BEOWULF 

AN EPIC POEM 

TRANSLATED FROM THE ANGLO-SAXON INTO 
ENGLISH VERSE 

BY 

A. DIEDRICH WACKERBAHTH, A.B. 

PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXON AT THE COLLEGE OF OCR LADYE OF OSCOTT, 

HON. COR. MEMBER OF THE COLLEGE OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, 

MEMBER OF THE COPENHAGEN ROYAL ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY AND OF 

THE LONDON ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 




LONDON 
WILLIAM PICKERING 

1849 



y-3 



BEOWULF 

AN ANGLO-SAXON 
POEM 

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE 



Uns ist in alten Masren Wunders vfl geseit, 
Von Helden lobebaeren, von grozer Kuonheit, 
Von Frouden hocbgeziten, von Weinen und von Klagen, 
Von kiiener Recken Strlten, muget ir nu Wunder hoeren sagen. 

Nibelungen Not. 



PREFACE. 

OF the Drudges who do the lowlier Work in 
the Tillage of Learning's Vineyard, few per- 
haps will be met with who have a more thankless 
Task than the Translator : for not only has he to 
bear the just Lash of enlightened Criticism from 
the Scholar, (whereof of course he can have no 
Right to complain,) but those to whom his Original 
must, but for his Toil, have remained for ever a 
sealed Book, and who are utterly incapable either 
of testing his Accuracy or appreciating his Diffi- 
culties, lay Load upon him without Mercy, and make 
him answerable not only for his own Errors, but 
for any Obscurities which may exist in his Original, 
as well as for their own blundering Misconceptions 
of his or his Author's Meaning. — In short he is 
called to account not only for his own Faults but 
likewise for the Ignorance of many of his Readers. 
It is true the Qualifications necessary for a Trans- 
lator into the Vernacular are but of a humble Cha- 
racter ; a fair Knowledge of his Original's and his 
Country's Languages, sufficient common Sense to 
understand his Author, sufficient Taste to choose his 



viii PREFACE. 

Expressions wisely, and a conscientious Regard to 
Faithfulness from the Consideration that with the 
Many he is the Trustee of his Author's Reputation, 
are all that is required of him. Still a Translator 
has serious Difficulties to encounter, which they only 
can appreciate who know them from actual Trial. 

With respect to the Work now presented to the 
Public, shortly after the putting forth of Mr. Kem- 
ble's Edition of the Anglo-Saxon Text in 1833 I 
formed the Design of translating it, and early in 
1837 I commenced the Work. Mr. Kemble's 
second Volume had not then appeared, and 1 pro- 
ceeded but slowly, on account of the Difficulty of 
the Work, and the utter Inadequacy of any then 
existing Dictionary. I still however wrought my Way 
onward, under the Notion that even if I should not 
think my Book, when finished, fit for Publication, 
yet that the MS. would form an amusing Tale for 
my little Nephews and Nieces, and so I went through 
about a Quarter of the Poem, when Illness put an 
entire stop to my Progress. Afterwards, though the 
Appearance of Mr. Kemble's additional Volume, 
containing the Prose Version, Glossary, &c. had 
rendered the remainder of my Task comparatively 
easy, other Matters required my Attention, and the 
MS. lay untouched till 1842, between which Time, 
and the present it has been from Time to Time added 
to and at length completed, and the whole carefully 
revised, much being cancelled and retranslated. In 
my Version I have scrupulously adhered to the Text 
of Mr. Kemble, adopting in almost every Instance 



TO THE RIGHT REVEREND 

NICOLAS WISEMAN, D. D. 

LORD BISHOP OF MELIPOTAMUS 
VICAR APOSTOLIC 

THIS WORK IS BY PERMISSION REVERENTIALLY 
AND GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED 



PREFACE. ix 

his Emendations. I have throughout endeavoured 
to render the Sense and Words of my Author as 
closely as the English Language and the Restraints 
of Metre would allow, and for this Purpose I have 
not shrunken either from sacrificing Elegance to 
Faithfulness 1 (for no Translator is at Liberty to 
misrepresent his Author and make an old Saxon 
Bard speak the Language of a modern Petit Maitre) 
or from uniting English Words to express import- 
ant Anglo-Saxon Compounds. In some Cases where 
I have done this I have added the Anglo-Saxon 
Word in a Note to justify my rendering; for though 
it is true that such Words as J^ilbe-beoji, (War- 
beast,) Ojiet-masg (Son-of-battle,) &c. mean " a 
Warriour" or " Soldier," yet in my Opinion these 
would be very inadequate Renderings of the Anglo- 
Saxon Expressions, and I therefore preferred to ex- 
hibit corresponding English Compounds. 

Some may ask why I have not preserved the 
Anglo-Saxon alliterative Metre. My Reason is 
that I do not think the Taste of the English Peo- 
ple would at present bear it. I wish to get my book 
read, that my Countrymen may become generally ac- 
quainted with the Epic of our Ancestors wherewith 
hitherto they have been most generally unacquainted, 
and for this purpose it was necessary to adopt a Metre 
suited to the Language, whereas the alliterative 
Metre, heavy even in German, a Language much 

1 Quia praesens opus non nugacem sermonis luculentiam, 
sed fidelem vetustatis notitiam pollicetur. Saso-Gramma- 
ticus. 

b 



x PREFACE. 

more fitted for it than ours, would in English be so 
heavy that few would be found to labour through 
a Poem of even half the length of the Beowulf 's-lay 
when presented in so unattractive a Garb. Still, if 
the literary Bent of this Country should continue 
for some few Years longer the Course it has of late 
Years pursued, it will be time to give this Poem to 
the English People in English alliterative Metre, 
and I shall be thankful to see it done. 

To facilitate Reference I have at the Beginning 
of each Canto marked the Line of the Original ac- 
cording to Mr. Kemble's Edition. 

It remains to give some Account of those who 
have gone before me in the Illustration of this 
Poem. The only MS. at present known to exist 
is that in the Cottonian Library, (Vitellius. A. xv.) 
which however was seriously injured in the Fire of 
1731. It is in two Parts differing greatly in the 
Style both of Hand-writing and Language. This 
MS. Mr. Conybeare, following Astle's Opinion, 
considers as belonging to the early part of the 10th 
Century. It was examined by Wanley, and is men- 
tioned in his Catalogue of Saxon MSS. and from 
Wanley's Time (1705) appears to have remained 
unnoticed till Mr. Sharon Turner in the present 
Century published extensive Extracts from it in his 
History of the Anglo-Saxons. The first complete 
Edition of the Work however was that of Dr. Thor- 
kelin. This learned Danish Antiquary, while visiting 
this Country at the latter End of the last Century, 
took a Transcript of the whole Poem, which together 
with a Translation and Commentary that had cost 



PREFACE. xi 

him much Labour and Expense was ready for 
Publication in 1807, when the inexplicable Poli- 
cy of the Danish Government gave Rise to a 
War with England, and in the ever to be re- 
gretted Bombardment of Copenhagen that fol- 
lowed, the Antiquarian's House and the literary 
Property he had been for thirty Years diligently col- 
lecting perished in the Flames. The venerable Sep- 
tuagenarian did not however relinquish his Task. 
Encouraged by the Exhortations and assisted by the 
Liberality of the Count de Sanderumgaard, he re- 
turned to England, made a new Transcript of the 
Poem, which with a Latin Version and three copious 
Indices he published at Copenhagen in 1816 under 
the Title of " De Danorum Rebus gestis Secul. hi. 
etiv. Poema Danicum Dialecto Anglo-Saxonica, Ex 
Bibl. Cotton. Musaei Britan. edidit, Versione Lat. 
et Indicibus auxit Grim. Johnson Thorkelin. Dr. 
I. V. &c." 4to. This doubtless was a spirited and 
honourable Work, but unhappily not very satis- 
factorily performed, the Text being so faulty that, 
without the Assistance of the large Table of Errata 
to it published by Prof. Conybeare, it is unintelli- 
gible, and the Latin Version being certainly worse 
than useless. 

In Professor Conybeare's " Illustrations of Anglo- 
Saxon Poetry," edited by his Brother the Rev. W. 
D. Conybeare, besides the valuable Corrections to 
Thorkelin's Text just referred to, an Analysis of 
the Poem is given, with copious Extracts translated 
in blank Verse. 



xii PREFACE. 

In Denmark a complete Translation appeared in 
1820, intitled " Bjowulf 's Drape. Et Gothisk Helte- 
Digt fra forrige Aar-Tusinde af Angel-Saxisk paa 
Danske Riim ved Nik. Fred. Sev. Grundtvig, 
Prsest. Kj^benhavn." 8vo. This is a spirited and 
brilliant Version, but by no means a close or even 
faithful Translation. It is accompanied by a useful 
Introduction, and some Notes justificative of the 
Phrases used in translating. But the Version being 
very free, and the divisions of the Original not being 
preserved, it is often difficult to say what Part of 
the one corresponds to a given Passage of the other. 

But the best and most important Work is that of 
Mr. Kemble, intitled, " The Anglo-Saxon Poems 
of Beowulf, the Traveller's Song, and the Battle of 
Finnes-burh, edited together with a Glossary of the 
most difficult Words, and an historical Preface, by 
John M. Kemble, Esq. M. A. of Trinity College, 
Cambridge. London, William Pickering 1833." 
fcap. 8vo. This work contains a correct and critically 
castigated Text of the Poems above mentioned, 
with the long Vowels accented throughout; and 
Mr. Kemble followed this up in 1837 with a second 
Volume, containing a larger Preface, (giving his 
more matured Judgment on the Poem, which he now 
considers rather mythological than historical,) a 
literal Prose Translation of Beowulf, Notes there- 
on, and a complete Glossary. This accurate and 
beautiful Edition cannot be too highly valued, 2 for 

2 It is however painful to see such a Book disfigured too 
frequently by References made in a sneering and irreverent 



PREFACE. xiii 

it the Thanks of every student of Teutonic Antiquity 
are largely due to Mr. Kemble, and I sincerely sym- 
pathise in Mr. Thorpe's Hope that he " will be in- 
duced to complete his already ample Collections, 
and give to the World that great Desideratum, an 
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary suited to the present 
state of Scholarship both here and abroad." 

The next Work that I shall mention bears the fol- 
lowing Title. " Beowulf, dasz alteste deutsche, in 
Angelsachsischer mundart erhaltene, heldengedicht, 
nach seinem inhalte, und nach seinen historischen 
und mythologischen beziehungen betrachtet. Ein 
beitrag zur geschichte alter teutscher geisteszust- 
ande von H. Leo." Halle 8vo. 1839. A copious 
Analysis of the Poem preceded by a mythological 
a historical, a geographical, and a genealogical In- 
troduction. 

Shortly after this appeared the German Transla- 
tion of Mr. Ettmuller, intitled " Beowulf, Helden- 
gedicht des achten lahrhunderts. Zum ersten Male 
aus dem Angelsachsischen in das Neuhochteutsche 
stabreimend iibersetzt und mit Einleitung und An- 
merkungen versehen von Ludwig Ettmuller, Mit 
einem Kartchen." 8vo. Zurich, 1840. A clever 
and generally faithful Version, but disfigured by 
wholesale alterations of the Text, which, however 
ingenious, I cannot think justifiable. It is preced- 

Style to the Holy Scriptures ; and, as such a Style neither 
helps to illustrate the Text of the Author, nor to throw Light 
upon the historical or mythological Questions involved, 
good Taste at least, if no higher Feeling, would suggest its 
Alteration in all future Copies of the Work. 



xiv PREFACE. 

ed by an Introduction apparently in most Parts 
taken from Leo, and is accompanied by Notes. 

Since these another Danish Version has appear- 
ed, intitled ; " Beo-wulf og Scopes Wid-sr3, to an- 
gelsaxiske Digte, med Oversaettelse og oplysende 
Anmserkninger udgivne af Frederik Schaldemose." 
8vo. Copenhagen 1847. This Work contains the 
Anglo-Saxon Text of Beo-wulf and the Traveller's 
Song, with an alliterative Danish Translation in pa- 
rallel Columns, and Notes. The Writer pretends not 
to be aware of the second Volume of Mr. Kemble's 
Beowulf, to which however he is evidently indebted 
for every Word of his W T ork, except what he has 
taken from Leo and Ettmuller : for strange to say, 
the Emendations of the Anglo-Saxon Text which 
he has adopted, are those of Mr. K. and the Pas- 
sages which he has found unintelligible are precisely 
those which baffle Mr. K.'s Efforts at Translation. 
His Translation however is not a bad one, for as he 
has pretty faithfully rendered Mr. Kemble's Eng- 
lish, he could not well fail of giving a fair Version 
of the Original. The Manner in which he treats 
his really learned Countryman Dr. Grundtvig is 
indecorous and vulgar, and his Discovery of the 
Cottonian Library in Oxford is at least original. 

My thanks are due to Mr. Kemble, the learned 
Editor of Beowulf, to the Rev. Dr. Bosworth the 
Anglo-Saxon Lexicographer, and to the Rev. J. W. 
Donaldson, A.M. of Bury St. Edmunds, who have 
all kindly answered my Inquiries relative to various 
Matters connected with the Poem. 




INTRODUCTION. 

BEFORE entering on the Poem now laid before 
him, the Reader will probably expect from me 
some account of the Heroes, Princes, and Tribes 
therein mentioned. I fear I can do but little to- 
wards satisfying his Curiosity, and that little I shall 
compress into as small a Compass as I can. Those 
who seek for further Information will find both large 
Materials collected and copious Directions for Re- 
search in the Works of Mr. Kemble, the Brothers 
Grimm, Von der Hagen, Mailer, Ettmiiller, Leo, 
Zeuss, and Finn Magnusen. Doubtless much 
Light will be thrown on the Subject Matter of the 
Poem by Mr. Kemble's forthcoming Work on the 
Mythology of the North, whereof however Teutonic 
Students are yet in Expectation. 

The Characters that are here brought before us 
seem to be of a mixed Nature, made up of a purely 
Mythological Personage united with one or more of 
the Heroes of traditional History : but so confused 
and contradictory and anachronous are the Accounts, 
or rather Legends, that any Attempt to separate the 
Mythological Portion so as to extract a sober His- 
tory from such Materials must, I think, prove only 
a futile Speculation and a Waste of Ingenuity. Such 
a mixed Personage I conceive is Beowulf himself 
the Hero of our Tale. His Achievements are all 
of a supernatural Character, such as slaying De- 



xvi INTRODUCTION. 

mons, Nickers, and Dragons, swimming five Days 
in the Sea, and the like. This alone would lead us 
to suspect him as a Mythological Being. But more 
of him presently. 

The Poem introduces us to Hrothgar, King of 
Denmark, a Prince of the Royal Line of the Skjol- 
dungar or Scyldings, whose Genealogy it thus 
gives : 

1. Scef. 

I 

2. Scyld 

3. Beowulf 

I 



I 

Froda 


1 

4. Healfdene 




1 1 
Ingeld 5. Heorogar 


6. Hr 

VI. 

the 


1 

5tbgar 
W al- 
ow 


1 
Halga the 
Good, m. 

Yrsa, 
Queen of 
Sweden 


I 

Elan, m. 

Ongen- 

theow the 

Scylfing 



! 1.1 I 

?. Hrethric Hroth- Freeware Hrothwulf 
mund m. Froda' s (Rolf 

S .i Kraki) 

Scef, or Sceaf who stands at the Head of this 
List is said to have been exposed as a Child in an 
Ark or little Boat, with a Sheaf (A. S. r*ceap) of 
Corn at his Head, and Arms and Treasures, whence 
his Name, and so to have drifted ashore on the 
Coast of Slesvig, where being received as a Prodigy, 
he was carefully brought up, and finally became 
Sovereign of the Land. 1 This Exposure is alluded 



1 Ipse Scef cum uno dromone advectus est in insulam 
Oceani quae dicitur Scani, armis circumdatus, eratque valde 
recens puer, et ab incolis illius terrae ignotus; attamen ab 
eis suscipitur, et ut familiarem diligenti animo eum custodi- 



INTRODUCTION. xvii 

to in the introductory Canto, but the Tale of Scef 
is told of his Son Scyld. In some genealogical 
Lists Scef only and not Scyld appears, in others 
Scyld only and not Scef, and again in others both 
are found. Mr. Kemble's Conjecture that they 
are identical appears to me well founded, and per- 
haps both are identical with Woden himself, as they 
appear amongst his Ancestors. The Hrothgar and 
Halga here introduced are the Roe 2 and Helge of 
the Danish Historians, and in introducing them 
here this Account differs widely from all other Tra- 
ditions, which place them not among the Ancestors 
of Odin, but far down among his Descendants. The 
List of early Danish Kings usually given is the 
following. 3 



erunt et post in regera eligunt. Ethelwerdi Chron. Lib. iii. 
ad fin. inter Savilii Scriptores. 

Iste (Sceaf) ut fertur, in quandam insulam Germanic 
Scandzam, de qua Jordanes, historiographus Gothorum lo- 
quitur, appulsus navi sine remige puerulus, posito ad caput 
frumenti manipulo, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatus, ab hominibus 
regionis illius pro miraculo exceptus, et sedulo nutritus, adul- 
ta state regnavit in oppido ouod tunc Slasvic, nunc vero 
Haitheby appellatur : est ar ^m regio ilia Anglia vetus 
dicta, unde Angli venerunt in ± -^anniarn inter Saxones et 
Gotbos constituta. Sceaf fuit fiL ■ Heremodii, Heremodius 
Stermonii, Stermonius Hadrae, Hadra Gualae, Guala Bedwe- 
gii, Bedwegius Strefii : Hie, ut dicitur, fuit filius Noe in archa 
natus. Simeon Dunbelm. Introductory Genealogical and Geo- 
graphical Chapter, inter X. Scriptores, and Gul. Meld. M. S. 
Bibl. Publ. Cantabrig. T. i. 2, 3, fol. 63, and F. f. 1, 27, 128. 
Another M. S. Chronicle in the Cambridge University Li- 
brary (Bibb Publ. G. g. 4, 25,) cited by Mr. Kemble, giving 
the royal Line of England from Adam to Scef, and thence to 
Hengest and so on to Edward IV. gives the same story. 

2 Roe is the Builder of Roskilde, no doubt the Heorot of 
the Poem. 

3 Crighton and Wheaton's Scandinavia, vol. 1, p. 112. 
Petersen's Danmarks Historie i Hedenold, Kap. 2, p. 1 26. 

c 



xviii INTRODUCTION. 



1. Odin ( arrived in the 

North) B.C. 70 

2. Skjold, died 40 

3. Lev, or Fridlev, I. 23 

4. Frode, I. A.C. 35 

5. Fridlev, II. 47 

6. Havard (kin haandram- 
me) 59 

7. Frode, II. 87 

8. Vermund (hin vitre) 140 



9. Olaf (litillate) 190 

10. Dan (mikillate) 270 

11. Frode,IIL(mikillate)310 

12. Halfdan, I. 324 

13. Fridlev, III. 348 

14. Frode, IV. (fnekne) 407 

15. Ingild 456 

16. Halfdan, II. 447 

17. Frode, V. 460 

18. Roe and Helge 494 



This List places a Distance of 564 Years between 
Odin's Arrival in the North and the Age of Hroth- 
gar and Halga, whereas the first three Names on 
the former List are in general found among the 
Ancestors of Odin. I shall now select three more 
genealogical Lines of Odin's Pedigree, in two 
whereof these Names appear. The first I take from 
Langhorne, 4 though whence he had it I know not: 
the second is from the Saxon Chronicle ad. An. 
854. They are as follows. 

Kings of the Saxons. 

Stresseus 



, ! 

Gualas 

I 

Hadras 

I 

Ittermon 

I 
Heremod 

Skeph (reigned in Sleswick) 

Skeld 

I. 
Bevin 

I 



4 Introduction to the Hist, of Engl. Tables at End, 8vo. 
London 1676. 



INTRODUCTION. 

I 

Tetuas 



In Asgard Geta (went to Asgard) In Germany 

I 1 

Godulph (son to Geta) Henry 

Finne Sifrid 

Fridulph 

I 
Frelaph 

.1 

Fridwald 



Woden (returned to Germany) 

I 

Weldeg and his Brethren with Sirick and his 

Sons, Hunding and Gelder 

N. N. 5 (Contemporary with Wermund, K. of 
the Danes) 

I 
Gelder (contemporary with Tordo, King of 
Sweden, and Dan the third, K. of Denmark) 

Artrick 

I 
Anserick 

I 

Wilkin, I. 



Swerting and Hanef 



Swerting, II. 
I 



5 Called Hundingus by Alb. Krantz. Saxonia, Lib. 1. c. 
2, 3, 4, and called Son of Sifrid, whose name occurs in the 
right hand Column. 



INTRODUCTION. 

I 

Wilkin, II. 

I 
^Vitikind 



I I 

Wilkin, III. Sigar 
I 



Bodo 

I 
Vecta 

I 
Vita 

Witigils 

Hengist. 

In this List two Genealogies are palpably con- 
founded ; Bodo the last Name but four on the List 
is a Name of Odin. The Names that precede it 
are, with little Variation, those which are given as 
the Ancestors of Odin in a List we shall presently 
see, and those which succeed it are the Names or- 
dinarily inserted between Odin and Hengest in the 
Genealogy of the latter Hero. Odin thus twice 
occurs in this List, a Privilege which must be per- 
mitted to his Godship ; Indeed he and his Son Bo 
reappear long after in Saxo, 6 and occupy for a Time 
the Throne of Denmark, and are then finally ex- 
pelled by the Christian Hero-King. We must not 
then in Mythological Matters be frightened at any 
Chronological Discrepancies. They are Things to 
be expected. 

6 Saxo, Lib. iii. near the Beginning, Fol. xxv. Edit. Paris. 
1514. The Name Bodo seems to point out Odin as identi- 
cal with Buddha, who is fabled to have been incarnate on 
Earth some hundreds of Times. 



INTRODUCTION. xxi 

The second and third Lists run thus. The latter 
is taken from Betham's " Genealogical Tables of the 
Sovereigns of the World/' Tab. dxciii. Whence 
Betham had it I know not. 

Noah B.C. 90. Harderic, K. of the Saxons A.D. 1 

I I 
Sceaf(born Anseric 8 

in the Ark) 7 I 

Bedwig Wilke 30 

Hwala Svarticke, Prince of Saxons . 76 

I I 
Hathra Svarticke 80 

I I 
Itermon Sigward 100 

I I 
Heremod Witekind, K, 

I I 
Sceldwa Wilke, II. P 190 

I I 
Beaw Marbod, K 256 

Taetwa Bodo or Woden, K. ... 300 

m. Frea, Fria, 
or Frigga 
Geat 

I 
Godwulf 

I 
Finn 

\ 

Frithuwulf 

I 
Freawine 

I 

Frithuwald 

I 

Woden. 

Now it would be easy to exhibit very many Tables 

7 The Saxon Chronicler appears to have mixed up the 
Tale of Scef s Exposure with the Noachic Flood. 



xxii INTRODUCTION. 

agreeing more or less with those above given, where- 
in the Name of the Scylding Beowulf appears vari- 
ously written as Beo, Beu, Beau, Beawa, Beowius, 
Beowinus, Boerinus, Beowulf, Bedwius, Beaf, Beir, 
Bevin, Bo. Moreover, in two of the MSS. ex- 
amined by Mr. Kemble, this Person appears as the 
Father of the following Sons. Cinrincius, Gothus, 
Iuthus, Swethedus, Dacus, Wandalus, Gethus, Fre- 
sus, Geatte. And in both MSS. is the following 
marginal Note. 

" Ab istis novem filiis Boerini descenderunt no- 
vem gentes Septentrionalem habitantes, qui quon- 
dam regnum Britannise invaserunt et obtinuerunt, 
viz. Saxones, Angli, Juti, Daci, Norwagenses, Go- 
thi, Wandali, Geati, et Frisi.'' 

This Beowulf the Scylding is then no less a Per- 
son than the Father of the Eponymi of all the great 
Northern Tribes. Is he not then in all probability 
identical with the Eddie God, Baeldseg, Ballar, or Bo, 
the Son of Odin ? probably even with Bodo or Wo- 
den, i. e. Odin, himself, as again with Bedwig Odin's 
Son, with whom the Variation Bedwius of his Name 
seems to connect him. For these are all most like- 
ly one and the same mythical Fiction. 

This brings us to the other Beowulf, the Hero 
of the Poem, wherein he certainly appears as an- 
other Person, a Waegmunding, son of Ecgtheow, 
and Nephew to Hrethel the Geatic King, living full 
two generations later than his Namesake. Never- 
theless I believe, wdth Mr. Kemble, that he is really 
the same mythological Personage. Nowhere but in 
this Poem is he mentioned, and though he is there 
stated to have holden the Geatic Sceptre half-a- Cen- 
tury, yet in no List of their Kings does his Name 
occur. The Difference in the Genealogy needs not 
stand in the Way of this Supposition. The Tables 
are full of such Discrepancies, witness the different 
Genealogies of Odin given above, which are all con- 
tradicted by the Edda of Snorri and the Heim- 



INTRODUCTION. xxiii 

skrino-la, where Skjold 8 is called the Son of Odin, 
who thus becomes not a Descendant but the An- 
cestor of the Skjoldungar, or Scyldings of our Poem. 
The very Nature of Beowulf's Achievements, as I 
observed above, seems to mark him as a superhuman 
Being 1 , and if therefore we consider him as the Son 
of Odin, we may see in his Contest with Grendel 
the Demon and his Fiend-Mother that Contest and 
Victory of the Divine Principle over the Evil Power, 
the Notion whereof the Heathen seem universally 
to have preserved in dark, varied and disfigured 
Traditions indeed, but originating no Doubt in the 
same divine and prophetic Source. Nor should the 
Fact of a God appearing here as only a Hero sur- 
prize us. Such is the usual Course where one Re- 
ligion supersedes another. The Gods of the aban- 
doned System sink down to the Rank of Demi-Gods 
or supernatural Heroes, and lastly to ordinary He- 
roes, in which state they are frequently mixed up 
with a historical Character. And thus Beowulf the 
God sinks first to the State of Beowulf the Scyld- 
ing, Father to the Eponyni of the Northerns, and 
lastly subsides into Beowulf the Wsegmunding, Ne- 
phew to Hrethel, and Friend of Hrothgar. Other 
Instances of this Reduction of a heathen God's Rank 
I shall have to mention in the Course of this Intro- 
duction : but that the Reader may comprehend the 
Tendency of the human Mind to lower the Rank 
of, instead of entirely discarding, the Gods of a 
system it has abandoned, I will refer to one In- 
stance where it is evidenced in a Manner too pain- 
ful and appalling to dwell upon, but too important 
and apposite here to be passed over in total Silence. 
Wherever the holy Faith of the Gospel has been sup- 



8 Snorri's Edda, by G. W. Dasent. Foreword, p. 110. § 
11. Heimskringla. Kap. v. Vol. 1. p. 5. Edit. Peringskiold. 
p. 12. of the German Translation by Mohnike. Vol. 1. p. 9 
of the Danish Version by Grundtvig. 



xxiv INTRODUCTION. 

planted either by Areianism or Mohammedanism, 
(and fearfully often, even when by the more re- 
spectable Forms of Protestantism), our divine Sa- 
viour is forthwith degraded from His Godhead, and 
looked upon as a mere Man, or at best as Issa the 
Prophet. 

Beowulf's divine Character derives some Confir- 
mation from his Name, the integral Portion whereof 
is Beo ; the termination " -wulf" being, like other 
Terminations in Northern Names, often changeable 
or omissible. " Now the Old Saxons, and most 
likely other conterminal Tribes called their Har- 
vest-Month, (probably part of August and Septem- 
ber) by this very Name of Beo or Bewod: thus 
' beuuo,' segetum. Helj. 79. 14. Kilian. ' bouw,' 
arvum. messis. In Bavaria, i bau,' seges ; ' bauen,' 
seminar e ; ' bewod,' messis. Helj. 78. 16. Teu- 
tonista. ' bouwt.' messis. ' wijnbouwt/ vindemia. 
Beo or Beow is therefore in all Probability a God 
of Agriculture and Fertility, and gives his Name 
to a Month as the Goddesses Eostre and Hredhe 
did to April and March. It strengthens this View 
of the Case that he is the Grandson of Sceaf, ma- 
nipulus frumenti (sheaf of com), with whom he 
is perhaps identical." Nor does his heroic Charac- 
ter take from the Probability of this Notion, for 
Woden and Thor are not only Gods of Battle and 
Victory but also Rulers of the Weather and Givers 
of Fertility and Increase. I had once indeed thought 
of connecting the Name with the Word Buan. 
A. S. " Buan," to dwell; Gothic, " bauan ;" Icel. 
" bua ;" Dan. " boe ;" Swed. " bo," to dwell, a 
house ; and thus to have made Beowulf a God of 
Architecture, which his Protection of Hrothgar's 
great Buildings seems to warrant, but the above 
Account, which is Mr. Kemble's, is I think more 
probable. 

Beowulf is a Geat or Weder, and that these 



INTRODUCTION. xxv 

Names are synonymous with Angle is powerfully 
maintained by Mr. Kemble, though Ettmiiller ve- 
hemently asserts the contrary, and would, with Prof. 
Leo, make the Wasgmundings synonymous with 
the Scylfings, a Tribe of Swedish Gothland. But 
Beowulf was at seven years old (i. e. before his 
Marriage with Hrethel's daughter), a near Relation 
to King Hrethel, the Father of Higelac. Yet it 
must be owned that while St. Gregory of Tours, 9 
and the author of the Gesta Reg. Franc., 10 call Chlo- 
chilaicus (Higelac) a Dane, the Heimskringla u 



9 His ita gestis, Dani cum rege suo, nomine Chlochilaico 
[Colb. Hrodolaico. Beccens. Chochilaico], evectu navali 
per mare Gallias appetunt, Egressique ad terras, pagum 
unum de regno Theuderici devastant atque captivant; one- 
ratisque navibus tam de captivis quam de reliquis spoliis, 
reverti ad patriam cupiunt. Sed rex eorum in litus reside- 
bat, donee naves altum mare comprebenderent, ipse dein- 
ceps secuturus. Quod cum Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, 
quod scilicet regio ejus fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Tbeu- 
debertum filium suum in illas partes cum magno exercitu ac 
magno armorum apparatu direxit. Qui interfecto rege, 
bostes navali praelio superatosopprimit, omnemque rapinam 
terras restituit. — Hist. Erancorum. iii. 3. Inter Opera. Ed. 
Iluinart. col. 106. 

10 Inillo tempore Dani cum rege suo, nomine, Cbocbilago, 
cum navali boste per altum mari Gallias appetunt, Theude- 
rico pagum Altoarios et alios devastantes atque captivantes, 
plenas naves de captivis habentes, alto mare intrantes, rex 
eorum ad litus maris resedit : Quod cum Tbeuderico nuntia- 
tum fuisset,Theudebertum filium suum cum magno exercitu 
in illis partibus dirigens; qui consequens eos, pugnavit cum 
eis caede maxima, atque ipsis prostratis regem eorum in- 
teifecit, praedam tulit et in terram suam restituit. Gesta 
reg. Francorum. cap. 19, cited by Leo. 

11 Heimskringla, Kap. 25, torn. i. p. 27, Edit. Peringskibld. 
Grundtvig Danish Edit. Kap. 14, p. 29. Mohnike's Germ. 
Trans, p. 29. But this Hugleikr, who appears regularly 
in the list of Swedish Kings, is said, in the places cited, 
to have been killed at Tyrravold by King Hake, who had 
with him twelve Champions and Starkathar (Stasrk-Odder) 

d 



xxvi INTRODUCTION. 

places the Dominions of its Hugleikr (if he be the 
same Person) in Sweden. Under the name of 
Hugletus, Saxo (Lib. iv.) places him 26th on the 
List of Danish Kings. The matter may I think 
be set at Rest by comparing the Saxon Chron. 12 with 
Alfred's Bede. 1:3 In the latter the People of Kent 
and the Isle of Wight are stated to be descended 
from the Geats, in the former from the Jutes, and 
Anglia is said to be between the Jutes and Saxons. 
I should therefore place the Geatas north of the 
Angles in the Peninsula of Denmark, and look on 
them and the Angles as neighbouring and intimately 
connected Tribes, and totally distinct from the Scyl- 
fings in Sweden. 

The Geatic royal Family appears to run accord- 
ing to the following scheme : — 
(? Swerta) 
_J 

I I 

Swerting Hrethel 

i i r i 

Herebeald Haethcyn Higelac n n. a daughter 

m. Hygd (a m, Ecgtheow 
Walcyrie) 

| Beowulf 

i i 

n n. a daughter Heardrede 
m. Eofer 

amongst them. This was in 302, whereas the incident in 
S. Gregory must have been between 511 and 562. Mezeray 
places it about 517. Abr. Chron. Tom. iii. p. 100. But the 
Higelac of Beowulf is a mythical Character mixed up with 
an historical one. 

12 Op 16tum comon Dantparie. -j tEihrpajie. (-J5 if peo 

maeg<5 <5e nu eaji^acS on Ulihr.) Op Xngle comon. 

pe a pi<Sc5an yco^Q pepri^ betpix lutum an's Seaxum. 

13 Op Eeara ppiuman p yn'oon Cantpapie an 1 © UJihtp asran. 
■j$ if peo Se6^ J?e UJiht Saet ealon^ onean>ap-. In the 
Orosius iElfred mentions tbe Saxons and Angles, but not 
the Geats, whom he probably includes with the latter. 



INTRODUCTION. xxvii 

Woared Hoereth 



III! 
Wulf Eofer Hereric Hygd 

m. a daughter m. 1. Higelac 

of Higelac 2. Offa 

In Florence of Worcester, and in a Table in 
Langhorne, we find Swerta among the Ancestors 
of the De'iran Kings. If this is the Father of the 
Swerting of our Poem, the Line will run down from 
Odin thus : — 

Woden 

I 

Wajgdaeg 

Sigegar 



Sigegeat 

SaMld 

I 

Saefugel 

I 
Swerta 

It may however be remarked that the name of 
Swerting twice occurs in the List of the Ancestors 
of Hengest in p. xix. And the Ancestors of Hen- 
gest would be Geats. If this is the Line whereto 
the Family of Higelac is to be affiliated, the Reader 
must make Swerting and Hrethel the Children either 
of Wilkin I. or of Swerting II. Alb. Krantz makes 
Slesvig at that Time in Possession of the Saxons. 

The Wife of Higelac is a strange Character, and 
bears the Name (Hygd) of one of the Waslcyrian, 14 

14 On the Wselcyrian see J. Grimm Teutsche Mythologie, 
p. 235 — 243. The third Book of Saxo opens with the Reign 
of a King Hotherus, who is described as meeting these Beings 
in a Wood. 



" 



xxviii INTRODUCTION. 

who attend upon Woden, and with this mythical 
Personage she appears to be intimately mixed up. 
After the Death of Higelac, she marries 15 Offa, 
King of the Angles, to do which, the Poet, looking 
for the Angles in England, tells us " she crossed 
the fallow Flood by her Father's Advice." Who 
her Father Haereth was, or who Wonrede the Fa- 
ther of her son-in-law was I do not know. Should 
we suppose the Poet, who was unquestionably a 
Christian, 16 to be aware of the Lady's Rank as a 
heathen Goddess it may well account for the ma- 
lignant Character he assigns to her, the Christian 
Faith having taught us to assign to the heathen 
Gods their true Character as Devils. (St. Paul, 
i. ad Cor. x. 20. and elsewhere.) 

Offa is called the Nephew of Garmund and 
Son of Hemming (nepa Irajimunbejr & maeg 
^emminge)-) so that his Line in Beowulf stands 
thus : — 

Woden 

Wihtlasg 



Hemming Garmund 

Offa 
Ancestors of the Mercian Kin°:s. 



15 On her Marriage, see Vita Offa, n. printed at the End of 
Watts' Mathew of Paris : the Biographer having attributed 
this incident to Offa of Mercia. She is called by the Eng- 
lish Writers Drida or Cynedrida (O. Norse, prufcr, or 
Kuena-bruSr), i. e. Thrythr or Woman-Thrythr. Thrythr, 
though it signifies Virgin, being, like Hygd, the Name of a 
Walcyrie. 

16 The Poet's Acquaintance with and Belief in the Holy 
Scripture and the Christian Religion, Dr. Thorkelin, who is 
determined to make out the Poem to have been written in 
Denmark in the Third or Fourth Century, stoutly denies, 



INTRODUCTION. xxix 

We now come to the Race of the Scylfings, cer- 
tainly a Swedish Tribe. Their Princes are Ongen- 
theow, slain in Battle against Higelac by Wulf and 
Eofer, in Revenge for which his Sons invade the 
Geatic Territory, and slay Heardrede, and in their 
Turn are routed and killed by Beowulf and Wih- 
stan a Scylfing Prince in the Geatic service. The 
Scheme will stand thus : — 

Ongentheow 
Wihstan (a Scylfing) m. l.Elan 

j 2. NN.takenin Battle agt.Geats 



Wiglaf Qnela Ohthere 



Eanmund Eadgils 

Eadgils may be the Adils of the Ynglinga-Saga 
and Athislus of Saxo. If so then Ohthere is also 
the Ottar of the Heimskringla, and possibly Ongen- 
theow may be Aun or CDn hin Gamle. 17 But it must 
be confessed that the Characters do not seem to 
correspond. This would identify the Scylfings of 
our Poem with the Ynglingas of Snorri. 



and asserts his Author's Theology to he but that of Homer 
or Cicero. I cannot understand this Assertion. The Re- 
ferences to the Scripture and to Christian Doctrine, with 
evident Assent on the Part of the Poet, appear to me so 
palpable, that to deny them seems little better than obsti- 
nate Wrong-headedness. 

17 In an old Norse and Latin " Catalogus Regum Sueciae a 
primordiis regni ad Magnum Erici an. 1533." Pant. Script. 
rer. Suec. I. p. 2, 3, 5. this name is written Haquon and 
Aukun, which is an Approach to the first part of Ongen- 
theow or Angantyr. Again Ougenthe6w is called in Beo- 
wulf gomela, i. e. hin Gamle, the old. But still the Cha- 
racters are widely different : One being a Warriour, and 
dying in Battle, the other a superstitious Driveller dying 
bed-ridden at the Age of 200 years. 



xxx INTRODUCTION. 

A Race of Hunlafings is also mentioned in the 
Poem. Their Heroes seem to be — 

Hunlaf 



I I 

Guthlaf Oslaf, or Ordlaf 

Ettmiiller makes Ordlaf an additional Brother, 
but he seems to be the same Person as Oslaf, one 
Form being used by the Author of Beowulf the 
other by the Bard of the Battle of Finnesburh. Ett- 
miiller also makes the Garulf of the Battle of Fin- 
nesburh the Son of Guthlaf : on what Authority I 
know not; certainly the Verse he cites from the 
B. of Finnesb. does not call him so. 

The Frisians and their King Finn next demand 
our attention. This Personage is considered by 
Mr. Kemble as another Instance of a Heathen God 
sinking to an Epic Hero. His Remarks upon the 
subject are perhaps hardly so satisfactory as could 
be wished, but as I have nothing more probable to 
bring forward I shall here present my Readers with 
the Substance of them. It will be observed that 
Finn in Beowulf and in the Traveller's Song is 
called Folcwalding and the Son of Folcwald. Now 
in the Lists of Odin's Progenitors given above (p. 
xix, xxi) his name occurs, but he was the son of God- 
wulf, in others of Godwine, though in Nennius, 18 and 
Henry of Huntingdon, 19 his Father bears the name 
of Folcwald, as in our Poem, while Asser, 20 and 
some others make him and his Father into one 
Person under the Name of Finngodwulf. Which- 
ever of the three names of Finn's Father we take 



18 Gunn's Nennius, p. 61. In Gale's Edit. Folcwald is 
called Folcpald evidently by mistaking the Old w (p) for 
a P. 

19 Savile's Scriptores post Bedam, p. 178. London 1596. 

20 Asser, p. 4. Oxford 1722. 



INTRODUCTION. xxxi 

for right, neither needs exclude the other. God- 
wulf and Godwine are little more than God, the 
first being- Lupus divinas, the second Deus amicus, 
while Folcwalda is Rector populi, all names of 
Deity, and thus Odin in the Volu-spa is called 
Folcvaldr Go^a (line 246 : Bergmann,vol. hi. p. 53. 
Finn Magnus en's Edda). 

But the Name Finn is uncompounded, which is 
itself Evidence of a divine rather than a heroic 
Character : and his Position among Woden's An- 
cestors leads one to suspect that the Fin of the 
Traveller's Song, Beowulf, and the Battle of Fin- 
nesburh, is really a mythical Personage who has 
grown out of some of the Legends concerning 
Woden. " Now," says Mr. Kemble, " though no 
Teutonic tongue furnishes a family of words from 
whose etymological relations the signification (of 
Fin) can with positive certainty be discovered, yet 
perhaps the following attempt may lead to some 
approximation towards a meaning. The Latin 
Penna (for Pinna), the English Fin of a fish 
stand in close etymological connection. Fin pre- 
supposes aTeutonic verb of the xiith Conjugation, 
finnan, fan, funnon, funnen. The English fan 
and fin denote light moveable shapes closely re- 
sembling each other, the word fun denotes boister- 
ous merriment. The Old High Dutchfano, Ang. 
Sax. fana, pannus, probably waving cloth ; fon, 
(Schmellers Wbrterb.) the soft south wind : Goth. 
funs, ignis : Goth, funs, Ang. Sax. fus, paratus, 
active. Does not the conception of motion lie in 
the verb finnan ? If so, he (Fin) is only another 
form of Woden, whose name, derived from the prae- 
terite ivod of wadan, (to go), denotes in like man- 
ner the moving acting godhead : and this view of 
the meaning of the name appears to me to be con- 
firmed by the fact that even Woden's name appears 
to be only a further derivative from an equivalent 



xxxii INTRODUCTION. 

Wod, the actual praet. of Wadan : at least I find 
him in the Traveller's Song, 1. 60., called Wod not 
Woden, and in the Edda, Volu-spa. 23 (1. 125). 
Freya is called O^s mey, not O^inns. Finnr as the 
name of a God does not occur in the Old Norse My- 
thology, but a Berserker Finnr is found. Fornald 
Sog. 2. 242, and one of the nine very mythic sons of 
Wikingr bears the same name Fornald. Sog. 2. 405. 
In the Volu-spa xxi [xiv] (1. 81 : Bergm.) a dwarf 
Finnr appears, as a descendant of Dwalin, but this 
name must be derived from the Old Norse, Jinna ; 
Ang. Sax.findan, invenire (to find). It is, however, 
not unimportant that in the same Poem 12, another 
Dwarf Buri, 21 of Modsogner's blood, is mentioned, 
for the Fornaldar Sog. 2. 13. 14. giving a Saxon 
genealogy compared with the Norse mythic descents 
mentions Finn han wer kollum Buri. But here it 
is quite clear that no dwarf is meant, for the Volu- 
spa accurately distinguishes between Buri, Modsog- 
ner's descendant, and Finnr, Dw^alin's descendant, 
whose name is not found in some MSS. But what 
Buri is then meant ? Obviously the antient mythic 
Buri (pariens, generans) the father of Bur or Bors 
(natus, generatus) whose three sons in turn are 
Odin, Vile, and Ve. If Finn then is as Buri a 
progenitor of Woden, he may very safely be looked 
upon as a mere form of Wooden himself." 

Having thus glanced at the original Myth of Finn, 
it remains to notice the real or fabulous Fin, Hero 
and King of Friesland. He is represented in the 

21 Mr. Kemble omits to remark that in the Karnes of the 
Dwarfs and in the Manner of writing them there is great 
Discrepancy among the MSS. The whole Line : " Billingr, 
Bruni, Bildr, Buri," where this Name occurs is in some In- 
stances absent. Prof. Bergmann,in whose Edit, of the Volu- 
spa it would form Line 68, omits it as spurious. Prof. Finn 
Magnusen and Dr. Dietrich (Altnordisches Lesebuch) in- 
close it within Brackets as doubtful. 



INTRODUCTION. xxxiii 

Poem as at War with the Danes. The Danish 
General is Hnaef called a Scylding, whom the 
Traveller's Song calls King of the Hocings, and 
of whom we get the following Genealogy in our 
Poem : — 

Hoce 

I 
A Daughter nn. 

I 
Hnaef 

Hnaef is assisted by Hengist, Guthlaf and Oslaf 
(Ordlaf of the Batt. Finsb.) and other Heroes. 
Though himself killed in the Contest, he attacks 
and conquers Finn, who is deprived of half his 
Kingdom. Hengist who if, as supposed by Mr. 
Kemble, not 22 I think with much Probability, the 
Founder of the Monarchy of Kent, is therefore a 
Geatic Wicing, remains in Friesland, to occupy the 
"annexed" Portion of Finn's Kingdom. Hilde- 
burh seems to be Finn's Wife. Hengist the next 
Year is murthered by Finn, but the Danes under 
Guthlaf and Oslaf avenge the Murther, Finn is 
routed and slain, and his Wife Hildeburh carried 
Captive to Denmark. 

A Race of Brandings, and their King Brecca, 
son Beanstan, are also mentioned. We find Brand 
or Brond, for in the Saxon Chronicle 23 it is written 
both Ways, in the Genealogy of the Kings of Wes- 
sex and Northumberland. The Sons of Brond are 
Freothogar and Beonoc. It is possible enough 
the Beonoc may be the Beanstan of Beowulf : and 
if so, the Line will stand thus :— 



22 I am not aware that any Writer states Hengist the first 
King of Kent to have died in Friesland, whereas Matt, of 
Westminster (ad an. 489) declares that, being defeated and 
made Prisoner by Aurelius Ambrosius, he was, at the in- 
stance of Eldad, Bishop of Gloucester, beheaded. 

23 Ad ann. 547. 552. 597. 854. 



INTRODUCTION. 

W6den 
I 



Brond 

I 



Fre6thogar Beonoc, or Beanstan 



I.I I 

Ancestors of Kings Ancestors of Kings Brecca 

of Wessex of Bernicia 

Heatho-rcemis, Brecca's Capital, is probably the 
Island of Rom (Romes<{> or Rom^) on the North - 
West Coast of Slesvig. 

I proceed now to give a short account of the 
Sigmund and Fitela of Canto XIII. These are 
the Sigurdr Fafnisbani, and Sinfiotli of the Edda 
Saemundar and Volsunga Saga, and the former of 
them is the Sigurdr or Sigfrodr of the Wilkina 
Saga, the Sifrid (or Siegfried) of the Nibelunge 
Not and the Seyfrit of the Heldenbuch. The 
Poet however has confused Sigurdr Fafnisbani and 
his Father Sigmundr. Sigmundr was a King in 
Frankland, 24 a Son of Volsungr, who, not recog- 
nizing his Sister Signi disguised by the Arts of a 
Witch, 25 begat of her Sinfiotli, who is accordingly 
called here his Nephew, and is the Brother not 
Nephew of Sigurdr. But Sigurdr and Sigmundr 
are in Beowulf one Person, the Sigmund of the 
Poet. Sigmundr and Sinfiotli 26 pass on their Ad- 
ventures together, are changed for a While for their 

24 Edd. Seem. Sinfiotla Lok. Frankland would at thai 
time be both Banks of the Rhine. Sigmundr's Kingdom is 
said to be somewhere about the modern Dutchey of Juliers. 
The Nibelungen-lied calls it Niederland, the Wilkina, S. c. 
131. Jarlunga-land. 

25 Volsunga Saga, c. 11. 

26 Volsunga Saga, c. 11. 12. 13. 14. &c. 



INTRODUCTION. xxxv 

Crimes into Werwolves, and burn Signy with her 
Husband Siggeir. Sigmundr married Borghildr, 
by whom he had Issue Helge and Hamundr, and 
afterward, byHiodis, Sigurdr. The following Ge- 
nealogy is taken from the Tables given by Pe- 
ringskjold at the End of the Wilkina Saga, from 
the Nibelungen-lied, from the Edda Soemundar and 
Volsunga Saga: — 

Audi or Odinn v 



I 

Siggy or Sigvat 

! 
Rerer 

I 

Wolsungr 



I 
Narfi 



Sigmundr Signy nk. 

m. 1. Borghildr m. Siggier,K.of 
2. Hiordis,d. Gautland 
ofN.Elin- 
naorSige- 
lind. 



I 
Two Sons 
slain in 
Gautland. 



I 

Two Sons 

slain by 

Sinfiotli 



I I I 

1 Sinfiotli 2 Helge 3 Hamundr 
begotten orHamdir 

of his 
Sister 
Signy 



4 Sigurdr 
m.l.Brynhildur 
S.Guthrunor 
Crimhild 
I 



I I 

1. Heiner Aslang 
m. Ragnar 
Lodbrog 



. Sigmundr Swanhilldr 

m.King Jormun- 
drik 

I 



I 



Brodd Haurfi 

Borghildr had a Brother named Hroar or Gun- 



xxxvi INTRODUCTION. 

narr ; 27 but Guimarr and Sinfiotli both falling in 
Love with the same Lady, the former was slain by 
the latter. On this Borghildr determined to drive 
him into Exile, but, Sigmundr insisting on his being 
quit on paying the Compensation-money, or "were," 
she poisoned him. 

The Wilkina Saga 28 calls the Mother of Sigurdr 
Sisile (Ccecilia) daughter of Nidung King of Spain, 
and tells a Tale of his Birth too interesting to be 
omitted here. The Story is very similar to a most 
beautiful Legend relative to S. Genevieve, which 
may be seen in the second Vol. of the Deutsche 
Sagen of the Brethren Grimm, and was published 
in English during the Stewart Period in a duode- 
cimo Volume called " Innocence asserted," and 
which I met with a few Years ago in the Library 
of J. Eyston, Esq. at Hendred House, Berks. The 
Saga informs us that during the Absence of Sig- 
mundr, he committed his Queen to the Care of two 
Noblemen, Artvin and Hermann, who failing to 
induce her to betray her Husband, on his Return 
accused her in Malice. Sigmundr ordered them to 
lead her out into a neighbouring Wood to Execu- 
tion. On the Way Hermann felt Compunction, 
and his savage Companion taking Offence at his 
Protestation of Penitence, they fell to Blows and 
Artvin was slain. In the mean Time the unhappy 
Queen was taken with premature Labour, and 
placed her Infant, Sigurdr, in a glass vessel, which 
Artvin in the Struggles of Death knocked into the 
River, at the Sight of which Accident the Queen 
expired with Grief. The Glass, however, floated 



27 The Name i9 called Hroar in the Brethren Grimm's 
Lieder de alten Edda, but Gunnarr in the great Copenhagen 
Edit, of the Edda Saemundar, by Prof. Finn Magnusen, in 
3 vols. 4to. 1787. 1818. 1828. 

28 Wilk. Sag. c 131—149. Grimm Heldensage. p. 73. 



INTRODUCTION. xxxvii 

with the Stream, till coming in Contact with the 
Bank, it broke asunder, and the Child screamed. 
Then came a Hind and took the Child in her 
Mouth, and bare him home to her Lair, where she 
had two young, together with which she suckled 
him, so that at the End of a Twelvemonth he was 
as strong as a Boy of four Years old. There was 
a Man named Mimer, a marvellously cunning 
Smith, who took him home and educated him in 
his Smithey. After a While the Strength of the 
Boy, displayed in a Quarrel with one of his fellow 
Handicraft-lads named Eckihard, and by splitting 
the Anvil with his Blows, and perhaps his Voracity, 
(for it seems he ate in one Day what was thought 
enough for nine), caused some Alarm to Mimer, 
who accordingly asked him to go into the Wood 
and burn the Charcoal, intending that he should 
there fall a Sacrifice to his Brother Reginn, who 
haunted the Wood, and for his Cruelties had been 
turned into a furious Dragon. Sigurdr assented, 
took with him a Hatchet, and having cut down a 
vast number of Trees, arranged them in a Pile for 
burning, and having lighted them, as it was now 
Day-time, set himself to his Meal, and ate up all 
the Meat and drank up all the Wine which Mimer 
expected would last him nine Days. Presently he 
saw the Dragon approach, and drawing a flaming 
Beam from the Fire, strake him on the Head there- 
with with such Force that he felled him to the Earth, 
and repeated his Blows till the Dragon was dead, 
when with his Axe he cut off his Head. In the 
Evening having filled his Kettle with Water, he 
cut off with the Hatchet some of the Dragon's 
Flesh to boil for his Supper. On putting his Fin- 
ger into the Liquor, and scalding it, he put it into 
his Mouth, and so bringing a Drop on his Tongue, 
he immediately understood the Language of Birds, 
and heard two Birds saying to one another, " If this 



xxxviii INTRODUCTION. 

Man knew what we know, he would certainly go 
home and slay Mimer his Foster-father, who has 
attempted to compass his Death, for this Serpent 
was Mimer's Brother, and Mimer will avenge his 
Blood and kill the Youth." Sigurdr then rubbed 
his Body with the Dragon's Blood, on which his 
Skin became as impenetrable as Horn, except be- 
tween the Shoulders where he could not reach to 
apply it ; and having resumed his Clothes, went 
home carrying the Dragon's Head in his Hand. 
On his Return Mimer hypocritically bids him wel- 
come, but he answers, " It shall be no Welcome 
for you, for you shall gnaw this Head like a Dog." 
" No, no," said Mimer, " you must not do that, I 
assure you I had rather make you Compensation 
for having done 111 to you. I'll give you the Hel- 
met and a Shield and Byrnie, those Weapons I 
made for Hertnid King of Holmgardi, and they 
are the best of all W'eapons. And a Horse will I 
give you named Grani, which is in the Stud of 
Brynhildr, and a Sword called Gramr, which is the 
best of all Swords." Sigurdr having accepted the 
Conditions, and put on the Armour, Mimer gave 
him the Sword, which swinging with his utmost 
Strength, he strake and killed Mimer. He then 
proceeds to the Borg or Castle of Brynhildr, bursts 
open the Gates and slays seven Thralls and seven 
Knights, who oppose him. Brynhildr, who was 
sitting in her Boudoir (situr i skemmu sinni), 
hearing of the Matter, went down and joyfully wel- 
comed her Visitor, informed him of his Rank and 
Birth whereof he had hitherto been ignorant, and 
inquired the Object of his Visit. On learning that 
he had come for the Horse Grani, she gave him 
free Permission to take him, and sent some of her 
Attendants to catch him. They were unable to 
do so, but Grani delivered himself spontaneously 
to Sigurdr, who put a Bridle on him, mounted on 



INTRODUCTION. xxxix 

his Back, and having thanked Brynhildr for her 
Hospitality, departed. Thus far the Wilkina 
Saga. 

The Edda, the Volsunga Saga, and the Nibel- 
ungen Lied tell the Tale somewhat differently. 
According to the last Sigelint is the Name of 
Sifrit's (Sigurdr's) Mother, according to the first 
two, Hiordys : and the Story of Sisile seems to 
have been unknown to the Authors of them all. 
In the Edda and Volsunga Saga Reginn or Reigin 
is the Name of the Smith, not of the Dragon, who 
is called Fafnir. Indeed the Author of the Vol- 
sunga Saga, as Prof. Finn Magnusen observes, 
appears to have taken his Account from the Edda. 
Here the Tale is, however, thus told. Hreithmar 
a Person of the Race of the Dwarfs or Daemons 
had three Sons, Reigin, Fafnir, and Otur. The 
last had the Faculty of transforming himself into 
an Otter, and in this Form was killed by Loki 
who in company with Odin and Hsener met and 
chased him. The same Evening the (Esir (Gods) 
walked out in human Form, and having accepted 
the Hospitality of Hreithmar, were by him with 
the Assistance of Reigin, who was marvellously 
cunning, cruel, and skilful in magic, made Prison- 
ers. They ransomed themselves by filling the 
Otter's Skin with Gold. Reigin and Fafnir wished 
for a Share of this Treasure, and Hreithmar re- 
fusing was murthered in his sleep by Fafnir, who 
appropriated the whole Treasure to himself, and 
left none for either Reigin or his two Sisters. 29 
Reginn asked for his Share of the Gold, but Fafnir 
refused, and being possessed of an iEgis-helmet 
which strake Terrour into every living Thing, he 

29 This Tale is found in the Edda. Quitha Sigurdar Faf- 
nisbana, part I. Compare Volsunga Sag. c.23. and Skalda 
1. c. p. 135—7. 



xl INTRODUCTION. 

constantly lay at Gnitaheithi, watching his Trea- 
sure, in the Form of a terrible Dragon. 

Sigurdr having consulted his Uncle Gripir, who 
was a Seer, about his Fate, went to the Stable of 
Hjalprekr, (Germ. Hilferich, Fr. Chilperic), and 
thence chose for himself the Horse Grani, large of 
stature, and bred from Odin's Charger Sleipner. 30 
Reginn then joined him and became his Adviser and 
Companion. He told him the Tale we have just 
narrated, forged for him the Sword Gramr, and 
urged him to take Vengeance upon Fafnir. Si- 
gurdr then sets out accompanied by Reginn in 
some Ships furnished by Hjalprekr, and after a 
Storm and singular Dialogue with a Nicker, van- 
quishes and slays Lyngvi Hundings-son and his 
three Brethren. He then returns home to Hjal- 
prekr, but being again incited by Reginn to the 
Slaughter of Fafnir, he and Reginn proceed to 
Gnitaheithi, and find the Path whereby Fafnir was 
wont to glide to the Water. Here Sigurdr dug a 
Pit and got into it. As Fafnir passed forth he 
blew out a Jet of Venom, which however passed 
over Sigurdr's Head, and as he glided over the 
Pit Sigurdr pierced him through the Heart with his 
Sword, and sprang out of the Pit. A curious Dia- 
logue ensues. Fafnir assures Sigurdr that the Trea- 
sure will prove his Ruin, and that Reginn will as 
readily betray him as he had himself. 31 

Sigmundr then took Fafnir's Heart and roasted 
it on a Wire, and when he thought it was done 
enough, and the Blood bubbled from the Heart, 
then he took it with his Fingers and tried whether 
it were fully roasted. It burnt him, and he put his 
Finger in his Mouth : but as soon as Fafnir's 
Heart's Blood had touched his Tongue he under- 

30 Vols. Sag. c. 22. 

31 Compare Vols. Sag. c. 27. 



INTRODUCTION. xli 

stood the Speech of Birds, and heard the Eagles 
talking on the Branches. They recommend him 
to eat Fafnir's Heart, assure him that unless he 
kills Reginn the latter will certainly by Treachery 
avenge his Brother, and bid him take undivided 
Possession of the Treasure. He accordingly takes 
off Reginn's Head, eats the Heart of Fafnir, and 
drinks both his Blood and that of Reginn. 32 The 
Eagles continue their Conversation, and indicate to 
him the Spot incircled by Fire where the Walcyrie 
Sigrdrifr or Brynhildr lay, under her Helm, cast 
asleep by Odin, who had fastened her Veil with a 
Thorn. " Hero, thou shalt see the Maid under the 
Helm, who rode (the Horse) Ving-skornir out of 
the Battle ; a King s Son may not break Sigrdrifr's 
Slumber ere the Decree of the Nornir." Sigurdr 
then enters Fafnir's Dwelling, loads Grani with 
the Treasure, mounts and rides the Hindarfiall, the 
Place pointed out, where he finds the Virgin sleep- 
ing in complete Armour. He removes the Helmet, 
but the Byrnie was so fast to the Body that he cut 
it through with his Sword Gramr and awoke her. 
She taught him Runes and many wonderful Things, 
and gave him valuable Advice. 

We now come to where the Icelandic Accounts 
fall in with the Nibelungen Lied. Sigmundr or 
Sifrit, goes into the Land of King Gjuke, and mar- 
ries his Daughter Godrun or Kriemhilte, and effects 
the Marriage of Brynhildr with Kriemhilte's Bro- 
ther Gunnarr or Gunthere King of Burgundy, by 
Arts which I need not stop to explain. 33 According 
to the Nibelungen Lied however the two Ladies 
quarrel for Precedence, and Hagene von Troneje, 
one of Gunthere's chief Knights, considering his 
Queen insulted, undertook to avenge her, and that 

32 Compare Vols. Sag. c. 28. 

33 Nibel. Adv. vit. Sigurdar Quitha Fafn. in. in Edda. 

f 



xlii INTRODUCTION. 

upon the innocent Sifrit, though the latter had 
" beaten his Wife black and blue " for her Imper- 
tinence to the Queen of Burgundy. A great hunt- 
ing Party is proposed, and Sifrit attends, but laying 
aside his Arms and stooping down to drink at a 
Well, Hagene thrust a Spear into the vulnerable 
Part of his Back, and so murthered him. 34 His 
Wife Kriemhilte afterwards married Etzel (Attila) 
and the barbarous and treacherous Revenge she 
took for her Husband's Death occupies all the lat- 
ter Part of the Nibelungen Lied. 

The Edda and Volsunga Saga tell the Tale 
somewhat differently from this. Brynhildr, though 
married to Gunnarr is in Love with Sigurdr, and 
greatly distressed at his rejecting her for Gudrun, 
thinks at last of Revenge. By continued Impor- 
tunities she at length prevails on Gunnarr to 
consent to the Murther of Sigurdr in his Bed. 
Gunnarr proposes to Hogni (Hagene) to murther 
Sigurdr and appropriate the Treasure. Hogni re- 
fuses, and the Deed is assigned to a Youth called 
Guttormr to perpetrate. 

Daelt var at eggia Facile erat instigare 

Obilgiarnan. Animo ferocem. 

Stob till hiarta Penetravit ad cor usque 

Hior Sigurbi. Ensis Sigurdo. 

Rep til hem da Tentavit vindictam 

Her-giarn i sal, Bellicosus in cubiculo, 

Oc eptir varp Atque in discedentem misit 

Obilgiornom. (Telum) animo ferocem. 

Flo til Gottorms Volavit in corpus Guttormi 

Grams ramliga Regis valide 

Kyn-birt jarn Mire politum ferrum 

Or konungs hendi. E regis manu. 35 

Gudrun awakes, for she is floating in her Hus- 

34 Nib. Adv. xvi. 

34 Sigurdar Quitha Fafn. xx. Vols. Sag. c. 39. 



INTRODUCTION. xliii 

band's Gore, (flaut i dreyra) Sigurdr attributes the 
Murther to the Despair of Brynhildr, consoles his 
Wife, and expires. 

Brynhildr then adorned herself magnificently, 
distributed Treasure to her Attendants, arrayed in 
a golden Byrnie and reclining on a Bolster, stabbed 
herself, gave directions as to the burning of her 
Body with that of Sigmundr and expired. Their 
Remains were burned on the same Pyre. 

I here conclude this Sketch of the Legend of 
perhaps the most renowned of all Heroes of Anti- 
quity. Lachmann has shown the Probability of his 
having been once a heathen God, by the subsequent 
Changes of Religion brought down at length to the 
Hero Sifrit of the Nibelungen Lied. And though 
his Name has almost perished from Memory in 
this Country, yet the Deed which obtained him 
the Surname of Fafnisbani, has not. In Christian 
Nurseries the slaying of the Dragon 35 has been 
transferred to St. George of England, who, when 
suffering Martyrdom for the Gospel in Nicaea, 
probably little thought of ever having his Brows 
decorated with the Crown of an old Teutonic hea- 
then God. With the Sifrit of the Nibelungen, Edda, 
and Volsunga Saga, there is I think probably some 
really historical Personage mixed, but I have been 
quite unable to identify him : but now that much 



36 It frequently occurs that the slaying of a Dragon is 
attributed to a Character who may without Fear be con- 
sidered as historical, as for instance, Ragnar Lodbrok, of 
whose historical Existence there would seem to be but little 
Doubt, however we may discredit his marvellous Achieve- 
ments. In several Cases of this kind I am not sure that we 
may not find an historical Explanation for the Feat by trans- 
ferring the Scene thereof from the Land to the Sea, and 
supposing the Slaughter of the Dragon to be merely the 
Destruction or Capture of one of those larger Vessels called 
by our Northern Ancestors " Dragons." 



xliv INTRODUCTION. 

Attention throughout Europe is turned to the 
Chronicles of the Middle Ages it is possible that 
others may be more fortunate. 

With regard to the Geographical Notions of my 
Author, I have endeavoured to imbody them in a 
Map. In this it is probable I may have made 
sundry Errours, which I trust the Reader will par- 
don, in Consideration of the Difficulty of identi- 
fying Places at this Distance of Time. The prin- 
cipal Authorities consulted have been Mr. Kemble, 
Ettmuller's Works, Leo, Thorpe's Notes to the 
Traveller's Song in his Codex Exoniensis, Zeuss, 
and the Orosius of King iElfred. 

I shall probably be expected by my Readers, before 
closing this Introduction, to say a few Words on the 
Age of the Poem. Dr. Thorkelin places it very 
early, about the third or fourth Century, denies 
the Authour's being a Christian, and considers it as 
manufactured in Denmark. This Notion, I think, 
may be summarily discarded. Dr. Wheaton says 
it " is probably a Translation or Rifacciamento 
of some older Lay originally written in the antient 
Language of Denmark." 37 That it is founded on 
National Legends there can be no Doubt, but why 
on that Account it should be considered as a Ri- 
facciamento or Translation of an older Work, I am 
at a Loss to discover. That the Authour was a 
Christian is evident, and therefore the work must 
be subsequent to the Arrival of the Missionaries of 
the Holy See at the latter End of the Sixth Cen- 
tury, (for the Language is pure Anglo-Saxon, and 
was certainly written in England or by an Anglo- 
Saxon of this Country), and the Traditions are of 
heathen Date. But the same Traditions, or at 
least many of them, were known to, and are given 
as History by the Christian Writers of the Anglo- 

37 Northmen, p. 130. 



INTRODUCTION. xlv 

Saxon Chronicle, as well as by the Christian Latin 
Writers. The Beowulf 's-Lay, then, appears to me 
to have as good a Claim to be considered an ori- 
ginal Work in its Present State as the iEne'id of 
Virgil or indeed any Epic Poem in Existence. I 
conceive then that the Author was a Christian of 
this Country, and from the little Bits of Preaching 
that one meets with every here and there, and his 
References to the Sacred Volumes, I think it pro- 
bable that he may have been an Ecclesiastic. And 
for that the chief Hero of the Poem is Geatic, and 
the People and Royal family of Kent were Geatic, 
it is hardly to be thought improbable that he may have 
been attached to the Court of the Kentish Kings. And 
if so, I should be inclined to look for him among 
the good Monks of S. Augustine's Canterbury. 
Leo and Ettmiiller call our Poem an " Heroic-Poem 
of the Eighth Century." The historical Higelac 
whose Death is chronicled between the Years 5 1.5 
and 520 and who was succeeded by his son Heard- 
red, and afterwards by Beowulf, who reigned fifty 
Years, a Period which the Poet would hardly have 
introduced, if, in his Time, the Death of Higelac 
were a recent Event, seem to mark the Work as 
certainly not earlier than the beginning of the 
seventh Century. And if as Leo, I think very 
improbably, supposes, the Legend of St. Gene- 
vieve is the Root of the Story of Sigmund in the 
Poem, then must it be much later, as Sigmund was 
gone to fight under the Banners of Charles Martel 
against the Saracens, when he left his Wife Gene- 
vieve (Sisile) in the Care of Golo (Artvin or Her- 
mann). If this is so, it would bring it down to the 
Time of Charlemagne. The Language of the 
Poem, again, does not appear to me to differ so 
much from that of King iElfred, or of Ceadmon, 
as to warrant our placing a very long Interval be- 
tween the Productions : but it appears to forbid our 



xlvi INTRODUCTION. 

considering- it as belonging to the later Danish 
Dynasty of Cnut. 

All things then considered, I am inclined to be- 
lieve, 1. That the Poem was originally written in 
this Country, perhaps in the Kingdom of Kent ; 
2. That its Author was without Doubt a Christian, 
and probably an Ecclesiastic of some Kind; 3. That 
it was founded on legendary Tales brought hither 
by the Geatic Conquerors of Kent, or else by some 
of the Angle Races who colonized other Parts of 
the Island ; 4. That it belongs to the seventh, or 
eighth, or, at latest, to the early Part of the ninth 
Century. 

I now conclude this Introduction, wherein I have 
endeavoured, as far as within reasonable Limits I 
might, to render the Perusal of the Poem easy and 
pleasant to the Reader, and if by awakening these 
Echos of the long lost Melody of Times gone by, I 
shall have induced any one to give a Moment's se- 
rious Thought to the mighty Changes wrought by 
Time in its ever-rolling-onward Career, as con- 
trasted with the changeless Perfection of Eternity, 
then have I done something towards elevating at 
least one Mind in the Scale of Being, and my Time 
and Labour have been well spent. 

Hammersmith, 

Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle, 

1847. 



Ikotoulf- 




INTRODUCTORY CANTO. 

|0 ! We have learn'd in lofty Lays [i] 
The Gar-Danes 1 Deeds in antient Days 

And Ages past away, 
The Glories of the Theod-Kings, 
And how the valiant iEthelings 
Bare them in Battle's Day. 
Oft Scyld, the son of Scef, from Bands 
Of foemen, drawm from numerous Lands, 

The Mead-thrones tare away ; 
For Dread he cast oh all around 
Sith he was first an Out-cast found, 2 
Thus he abode in easy State, 
And 'neath the Weikin waxed great, 

And in his Glories thrave, 
Till circling Nations far and wide 
v Over the Path the Whale doth ride 3 

Obeyed and Tribute gave. 
This was a Monarch good :— and he 
Was after bless'd with Progeny, 
Young in his Palaces, by Heaven 
A Comfort to the People given : 
He knew the 111 they had sustain'd 
While chieftainless they long remainM. 
Therefore to him the Lord, whose Sway 



2 BEOWULF. 

Life and Death themselves obey, 
Who Glory gives and takes away, 

Vouchsafed a high -Command ; 
Illustrious was Beowulf's Name, 
And widely spread the Scylding's Fame 

Through all the scatter'd Land. 
Thus should a Warriour Chieftain bold 
Enhance by prudent Gifts of Gold' 

His Father's Dignity, 
That when age-stricken is his Hand, 
And War shall come upon his Land 
A voluntary warriour Band 

May round him marshall'd be. 
He whom his People will sustain, 
In every Land shall Honour gain, 

By Deeds of Chivalry. 
But Scyld, at fated Time, departs 

Ripe, to the Lord's eternal Rest, 
His Comrades dear with aching Hearts, — 

According to his last Behest 
While yet he own'd the Power of Speech,— 
Bare forth his Corpse upon the Beach. 
A ring-prow'd Ship there ready stood 
Prepared to tempt the foaming Flood, « 
The Car the noble love to ride 
It shone like Ice upon the Tide. 
Within the goodly Vessel's Hold 

Their Monarch dear they cast. 
Distributer of Rings of Gold, 4 

The mighty by the Mast. 
And there were Gems and Treasure fair 
From distant Climes collected there. 
And never did I hear Man say 

Of comelier Ship, bedight 
With Weeds of War for Battle's Fray, 
With deadly Bills and Byrnies grey, 

And Weapons of the Fights 
Rich Treasure in abundant Heap 



INTRODUCTORY CANTO. 

Upon his Bosom lay, 
Into Possession of the Deep 

With him to pass away. 
They would not send their Chief away 
With less Magnificence than they, 

Who sent him forth of yore, 
To wander o'er the Ocean wild 
A lonely and deserted Child. 
They high above his Head unroll'd 
A fluttering Banner's Wings of Gold, 
And bear him let the Waters cold, 

To Ocean gave him o'er. 
His gallant Band of cheer were low, 

And sore dispirited, 
For, sooth to say, no Mortal, though 
He wise may be, can ever know, 
Nor answer how or whereunto 

The pretious Cargo sped. 5 



CANTO I. 

' r T^HEN o'er the Scylding Cities gain'd [105] 
X Beowulf Rule, and long he reign'd, — ■ 
(His Sire, that antient Chief of Worth 
Had pass'd elsewhere from off the Earth, — ) 
Till from him haughty Healf-dene rose, 

And while he life retain'd 
Aged and dreadful to his foes, 

Full joyously he reign'd. 
At length unto him numbered o'er 
Awoke on Earth 1 his Children four, 
Leaders of Hosts, Heoro-gar, 
Hroth-gar and Halga good in war, 
And Ladye Elan, o'er the Tide 
Who pass'd, I heard, 2 the Scylfmg's 3 Bride. 
Then was vouchsafed to H roth -gar's Sway 
Success full high in Battle-frav 



4 BEOWULF. 

And martial Honours brave, 
So that his Kinsmen to his Sway 

A free Obedience gave, 
And thus their noble Youth into 
A mighty kindred Nation grew.- — 
It came into his princely Mind 
To raise a Palace fair-design'd 

A Banquet-hall of State, 
Such as the Children of Mankind 

Might ever celebrate, 
And there dispense to all his Band, 
Both young and old, his Bounty grand, 
Whatever the All-mighty *s Hand 

Had unto him assign'd, 
Except the Right of Odel-land 

And Lives of human Kind. 4 
Then, as I heard, 5 both far and wide 
This mighty Work was notified 
Throughout the Earth the Tribes among, 
The adorning of this Castle strong. 
In time it came to pass 6 at last 
That this of Palaces most vast 

Was to Completion brought, 
And the great Monarch whose Behest 
Both far and wide high Power possess'd 

Yclept it Heorot. 7 
Nor fail'd he of his Word, but gave 
The costly Rings and Treasures brave, 

At Banquet as he sate : 
Lofty and vaulted rose his Towers, 
But loathly Flame's malignant Powers 

His Palace did await. 
Nor was it longsome Season ere 
The Hero bade the Oaths to swear ; 
But afterwards through deadly Hate 
His Power was destined to abate. 8 
For dread the Enemy and fell, 
A Fiend that did in Darkness dwelL 



CANTO I. 

And ill he brook'd in that fair Hall 
The daily Voice of Festival : 
There was the Harp's melodious Swell 
To Song of Bard, well learn'd to tell 
Man's first Original and Birth ; — 
Who said the' Almighty made the Earth 
The bright-fac'd wave-incircled Plain, 9 — 
How, triumphing in Victory's Reign, 
He set the Sun and Moon so bright, 
The Dwellers on the Earth to light, — 
How He adorn'd the barren Ground 
With quick ning Verdure all around, — 
And made all living Nature rife 
W r ith the dark Energy of Life. 
Thus gallantly the Comrades fared, 

Till one both stark and fell, 
Dark Deeds to perpetrate prepared, — ■ 

A ghastly Foe from Hell : 
And Grendel hight that demon gaunt; 
The Marches were his lonely Haunt, 
The Moor and Fen and Fastness' Height 
He held subjected to his Might. 
The Dwellings of the Demon- kin 10 

Full long had he been doom'd to guard, 
Sith first of old condemn'd for Sin 

By the Creatour's just Award. 
Th' eternal Lord on Race of Cain 11 
Avenged the Death of Abel slain, 
For little was he pleased to see 
That Deed of salvage Enmity, 
But for his Crime th' Creator's Ban 
Out-drave him from the Haunts of Man. 
Therefrom arose the Monster Crew, 
Eotens, Elves, Orks, 12 and Gyants too ; 
And long 'gainst God a War they made, 
He therefore Vengeance due repaid. 



BEOWUL F. 



CANTO II. 

[229] 

FORTH went the Fiend, when Night o'ercast, 
To visit Hroth-gar's Palace fair, 
And notice how, the Banquet past, 

The Hring-Dane Youth maintain'd them there, 
There in the Hall the Chiefs around, 
The Banquet o'er, asleep he found ; 
Nor Woe nor Care their Hearts oppress'd, 
Nor evil Passions in the Breast 

They knew not aught of Pains. 
The Monster, grim and greedy 1 too, 
Soon ready, fell and furious, slew 

While sleeping, thirty Thanes. 
Then homeward, glorying in his Prey, 
Dragging the slaughter'd Forms away, 

His dismal Dwelling gains. 
Then in the Morn, when Day began 
Was Grendel's Deed revealed to man, 2 
And after Feast rose Wailing high, 
For bitter was the morning Cry, 
The Prince erst good, the mighty King, 
Sat woe-begone and sorrowing, 
The Thane was grieved when saw the Host 
The Steps of the malignant Ghost. 
That Struggle was, alas ! too strong, 3 
Too loathsome and withall too long. 
Nor was there longer quietude, 

But when one Night was past, 
His Course of Murder he renewed, 
For Naught he reck'd of Crime or Feud 

In that he was too fast. 4 
And then was easy to be found 5 
A Bed among the Bowers round 
Far more commodiously to sleep 
Than there where bidden Watch to keep. 



CANTO II. 

Full truly said, by Token plain, 

The hated Foe of Palace-thane, 

Who scaped the Fiend would afterward 

Keep wider Distance closer Guard. 

Thus did he rule, and constant Fight 

Maintain'd against the Cause of Right, 

Alone 'gainst all, till the most great 

Of Palaces stood desolate. 

The Time was long, twelve Winters' Space 

The lov'd of all the Scylding Race 

Indured his Rage, each woful Case, 

And mighty Wretchedness, 
That 'mongst the Sons of Men 'twas known, 
And in sad Songs of Sorrow shewn, 
How Grendel, while he still renew'd 
Crime, vengeful Hate, and deadly Feud, 
For Years 'gainst Hrothgar War pursued 

With ever fresh Success. 
Nor would the Life-pest 6 ever take 
A golden Fee, and Treaty make 

With Wight of Danish Land, 
But the Death-spirit dark and strong, 
Foul Monster persecuting long, 
Insnared and sore oppress'd the Young 

And Noble of the Land. 
He held in everlasting Night 
The misty Moors ; — no living Wight 
Can e'er describe the penal Place 
Assign'd to Hell's dark wizard Race. 7 
Such Crimes this Foe of Man had done, 
Such cruel Deeds this Wanderer Lone, 
He dwelt throughout the darksome Night 

In Heorot's fair Hall 
Yet not, for the Creator's Might, 
Could he the Gift-throne's Treasure bright 
Approach nor could he bring to Light 

His Counsels dark at all. 
Right piteous this. — The Scylding great, 



8 BEOWULF. 

Heart-broken and disconsolate, 
The mighty one in Council sate, 

They urged their anxious Rede, 
How it were best 'gainst crafty Hate 

For Heroes to proceed. 
At Times indeed they would ordain 
The solemn Service of the Fane, 

And to the Spirit-slayer, 8 
Help in the public Woe to gain, 

Would raise their earnest Prayer. 
Such was the heathen's Hope and Course, 

Who Hell in Mind ador'd, 
Nor wist of Judge who gives the Meed 
Of every good and evil Deed, 

They knew not God the Lord, 
Nor how the heavens' Protector high, 
The Glory-king, to magnify. 
Woe be to him whose Malice dire 
W T ould thrust into th' Imbrace of Fire 
The Soul, where Nought can Hope inspire 

Of Comfort in its Woe ; 
But bless'd who after Death's dread Day 
To seek the Lord departs away 
And in the Father-bosom 9 may 

Heaven's Peace eternal know. 



CANTO III. 

THUS then did Healf-dene's valiant Heir [376] 
Seeth 1 with continued Grief oppress'd, 
Nor could the prudent Hero's Care 

Avoid the devastating Pest, 
For that the Struggle was too strong, 
Too loathly and withal too long, 
The People that so sore bested 
With Malice grim and Vengeance dread, 
Of ni^htlv Woes most drear : 



CANTO III. S 

Till, from his Home, did Higelac's 

Thane, 2 'mongst the Geats renown M, th' Attacks 

Of Grendel's Fury hear. 
Mightiest of all Mankind was he, 
Noble, and full of Dignity, 

In this Life's Daylight 3 fair, 
Forth- with a Traveller of the sea 4 

He bade his Men prepare : 
Athwart the Path of Swans profound 

He said he would proceed, 
And seek the War-king, Prince renown'd 

Sith he of Men had need. 
The prudent, though they loved him, deem'd 
Somewhat unwise the Journey seem'd, 
Sharpen'd their Minds with previous Thought 
And anxiously an Omen sought. 
The good Chief from the Geatic Land 
Had chosen out a valiant Band, 

Whom he could find most keen, 
And to his Ocean-wood he went 
Escorted by an Armament 

Of gallant Youths fifteen. 
Time pass'd, the Ship was on the Wave, 

The Boat beneath the Mountain's Brow, 
And ready were the Warriours brave 

And stepp'd upon the Prow. 
Anon they sent the Waters there 

Sea whirling o'er the Sand, 
The Men their ready War-sears fair 
Into the Vessel's Bosom bear 
Shove off the Bound-wood, and repair 
On perilous Campain to fare 

A willing warriour Band. 
Then foamy-neck'd across the Tides, 
Driv'n by the Wind, the Vessel glides, 

As Water-fowl doth ride, 
And for an Hour, the second Day, 
The wreathed Prow had sail'd away, 



10 BEOWULF. 

When Land the Wanderers spied : 
They saw the Sea-cliffs glisten bright, 
And the steep Mountain's dizzy height. 

And ocean Nesses wide, 
And now the Sea is safely past 
Their Toil is at an End at last. 
Without delay the Weder Band 
Debark'd, and stepp'd upon the Land, 

And tied their Vessel sure, 
Drew forth their Sarks, their War-weeds 7 brave, 
And God they thank'd that o'er the Wave 

Their Course had been secure, 
Soon from the Wall the Scylding Ward, 
Whose duty was the Cliffs to guard, 
Beheld them from the Vessel draw 
Bright Shields, and Instruments of War. 
His Curiosity brake 8 through 
In ponderings of his Mind to view 

What Men they e'en might be, 
Therefore on horseback rode he to 

The Margin of the Sea. 
The Thane of Hroth-gar brandish'd in 
Strong Hands, his mighty Javelin 

And thus in W T ords he spake : 
" Who are ye, that, in Armour dight, 
And guarded well with Byrnies bright, 
Your foaming Keel have hither led 
Athwart the Holm, and traversed 

The Passage of the Lake ? 9 
I, as the Border-warden, keep 
My Watch upon the Ocean deep, 

Lest with a pirate Band 
Some of the Foemen to our State 
Should harry, rob, and depredate, 

Upon the Danish Land. 
Yet ne'er did shielded Warriours here 
More openly before appear, 
The Pass-word of our warlike Crew 



CANTO III. 11 

Unknown, and Rites to Kindred due, 
Throughout the Earth I ne'er did see 
'Mongst Earls, a Chief in Panoply 

Of nobler Form to view 
Than one of you appears, and he 
In Arms must not unfrequently, 
Unless his Countenance's grace 
Belie him, and his matchless Face, 10 

High Deeds of Worship do. 
Now I, ere o'er the Danish Land 

From hence you farther go, 
Like leasing Spies in traitor Band, 

Your Origin must know. 
Now Dwellers of a far Countrey, 
Ye, Wanderers o'er the mighty Sea, 

My simple Thought ye know, 
And Speed were wisest, 11 whence may be 

Your Coming here to shew. 



CANTO IV. 

THE Band's chief Captain in Reply [513] 

Unlock'd his Speech's Treasury, 1 
" Home-thanes of Higelac are we, 
Of Geatic Race and Pedigree, 
My Sire, whom Nations well did know 
As noble Prince, hight Ecg-theow, 
And many Winters o'er him fled 
Ere on his Way from Earth he sped, 
Through Earth the wise among Mankind 
Can well his Memory call to Mind. 
And we, with faithful Hearts, thy Lord, 
Healfdene's great Son, the People's Guard, 
To visit hither come, — do thou 
To us propitious Counsel show. 
We to the mighty Danish King 
An Errand of high Import bring, 



12 BEOWULF. 

Nor, if right Hope I entertain, 

A Secret shall it long remain. 

For, sooth, we have heard tell, (and thou 

Canst say if true the Tale I trow,) 

Some Fiend, I wot not who, 
The secret Foe of Valour bright, 
Doth, in the Darkness of the Night, 
In form of Terrour stark appear, 2 
And uncouth Malice, Death, and Dere, 

Upon the Scyldings do. 
Now I, with Counsel great and bold, 3 
To Hroth-gar would my Rede unfold, 
How, wise and good, his demon Foe 
He may avail to overthrow, 
If e'er he scape, and of his pain 
The busy 4 Retribution gain, 
And thus his whelming Woe shall fain 

Relax its boiling powers, 
Or else the noble Chief must reign, 
A troublous Time, in harrowing Pain, 
While on High-stead there shall remain 

The best of Royal Towers." 
To him the Warder quick replied, 
A Man of Heart unterrified, 

As on his Horse he sate : 
" Full well the shielded Man of might, 
He who has learned to think aright, 5 
Twixt Words and Deeds by .Judgement's Light 

Had need discriminate. 
Now that I hear and understand 
Your Cohort is a faithful Band, 

To Scylding Prince allied, 
Proceed, unhinder'd, forth to bear 
Your Arms and Weeds-of-battle fair, 

And I will be your guide. 
My Comrades too I will command 
To guard your Vessel on the Sand, 
Your new-pitch* d Bark, from foemen Band 



CANTO IV. 13 

Whoe'er they be, secure. 
Till th' wreath-neck'd Wood, 6 athwart the Main, 
Loved men, shall bear you back again 

Unto the Weder Shore. 
Such Heroes be it giv'n unto 
The Deeds of Battle's-rush to do, 

Unscathed by Wound or Sore." 
W 7 hen motionless at Anchor stood 
The hollow-bosom'd Vessel good, 
Secure beneath the Cable's hold, 
Proceeded forth the Warriours bold. 
Defences on their Cheeks they wore 
Wrought with the Image of the Boar, 
In twisted Gold, and Sheen, made hard 
In Fire, the Life's Defence to guard. 7 
With salvage Mind, and grim, in Haste 
The Men together downward pac'd, 
Till they the Mansion strange behold, 
W T ell furnished, and adorn'd with Gold, 
Of Palaces 'neath Heaven's Ray, 

The Dwellers of the Earth before, 
Most famous, where the Monarch lay, 

Whose Light shone many Countries o'er, 
The Beast-of-war 8 the proud one's court 

To them did plainly show, 
So that they might unto the Fort 

Immediately go. 
One of the W T arriours turn'd his Steed, 
And said : " 'Tis time I should recede : 
You may th' All-mighty Father keep 

Safe in your dangerous Course, 
Neath His protection : — to the Deep 
I must away, my Guard to keep 

'Gainst any hostile Force." 



14 BEOWULF. 

CANTO V. 

THE Street with shining Stone bespread [637] 
The men their Course together led. 
Hand-lock'd and hard 1 shone Byrnies bright, 

Sang 3 iron Rings in Hawberk grey, 
As, in their Dress-of-terrour 3 dight, 

On to the Hall they made their Way. 
Their Bucklers broad with Margin strong 
The weary Seamen rang'd along 

The Wall in Order bright, 
And bowed them on the Benches round, 
While their ringed Hawberks hoarsely sound. 4 

The Heroes' Weeds-of-fight. 
Their Lances piled together stood, 
The seamen's Arms, of ashen Wood 
Grey tipp'd above, the iron Threat 5 
Was bright upon the Weapons set. 
Soon ask'd the Sons-of-battle then 
A Hero proud, of th' valiant Men : 6 
" Whence bring ye solid Shields away, 
And Helmets grim, and Hawberks grey, 
And Sheaf of spears ? I pray explain, — 
I Hroth-gar's Herald am and Thane : — 
And Strangers have I never seen 
So many of so noble Mien. 
For glory 't is, I undertake, 
Not Exile, but for Valour's sake, 

Ye Hroth-gar's Dwelling seek." 
The Weder Chieftain proud and brave, 
Hard 'neath his Helm, 7 this Answer gave 

And thus his Word did speak. 8 
" My Name 's Beo-wulf : Board-thanes we 
Unto the Geatic Monarch be. 
And I would e'en my message bring 
Unto thy Lord, the mighty King, 
Healf-dene's illustrious Son, if he 



CANTO V. 15 

Permit, and think it meet 
To be allow'd to us, that we 
So good a Prince may greet." 
Then spake the Vandal Chief Wulf-gar, 
For War and Wisdom fam'd afar : 
" I therefore to the gratious Dane, 

Giver of Rings, the Scylding King, 
The mighty Chieftain, will right fain 
As thou desirest me, 9 explain 

Thy journey and forthwith will bring 
What Answer the good Prince through me 
Shall deem it fit to send to thee." 
Then forth he sped where bald and old 

The royal Hroth-gar sate 
Surrounded by his Barons bold 

In venerable State. 
Then forward stepp'd the Warriour good 
Until he at the Shoulder stood 
Of Denmark's Monarch ; — well knew he 
The Customs of Nobility. 
Wulf-gar address'd his Sovereign dear : 
" The People of the Geats are here, 
From far o'er Ocean's Road 10 they came 
Their Chief the Sons-of-battle name 
Beo-wulf : — Suppliants are they, 
My Sovereign, that with thee they may 

In Words hold Converse high, 
And thou, O ! Hroth-gar, say not nay, 

But frame a kind Reply. 
For they, in warlike Harness dight, 

Full worthy do appear 
Of Earl's possessions, and the Knight 
At least must be a Prinze of Might, 

Who leads his Warriours here. 



16 BEOWULF. 



CANTO VI. 

[937] 

H ROTH-GAR the Scvlding Chief began. 
" Well as a Child I knew the Man,. 
Ecg-theow his sire, to whom the brave 
Hrethel his only Daughter gave : 
And here hath come his Off-spring bold, 

A faithful Friend hath sought ; 
For Geatic Mariners hath told, 

Who hither Presents brought, 
His single Arm, renown'd in Fight, 1 
Doth wield full thirty Warriours' Might. 
And him for Honour's high Intent 
The holy God hath hither sent, 
To Western Danes : — I therefore hope 
With Grendel's Terrours well to cope, 
With Treasures fair the good Chief I 
Shall guerdon for his Gallantry, 
Haste bid them enter, see they be 
Received together joyously, 
And also tell the friendly Band 
They're welcome to the Danish land." 
[Wulfar returning] 2 thus brought Word, 
" My royal and victorious Lord 
The East-Dane Chief hath bid'n me tell 
He knows your Race and Lineage well, 
And o'er the Ocean's whelming Wave 3 
As Men of Counsels high and brave 4 

He bids you welcome here. 
Then, Comrades, ye may forward now 
In Mail bedight, and Helm on Brow, 

Before him to appear ; 
But leave your Shields and Lances too, 
And eke your Arrows deadly true, 
The ending of your Interview 

To bide in Safety here." 



CANTO VI. 17 

Uprose the mighty Chieftain good 
And many a Thane around him stood 

A gallant Band array'd, 
While some remain'd behind, and there 
The warlike Armour held in care 

E'en as the Hero bade. 
Then on in Haste the Warriours sped, 
Which Way the gallant Wulf-gar led, 
'Neath Heorot's extensive Arch, 
Till on the Dais was his March, 
Mighty 'neath polish'd Aventayle, 
And on him gleam'd his Sark of Mail, 
The cunning Work of Iron net 
By Craft of Smith together set, 
As thus yspoke the Geatic Thane : 
" To Hroth-gar hail ! the royal Dane, 
Of Higelac, that Monarch high, 
The Kinsman and the Thane am I, 
And in my earlier Youth have wrought 
Full many Deeds with Glory fraught, 
And I have learn'd in Father-land 
The Ravage wrought by Grendel's Hand. 
For Travelers say this Noble hall 
The stateliest of Dwellings all, 
Soon as the evening Light has been 
Concealed beneath the Heaven serene, 
Is left to Emptiness consigned 
A useless Thing to all Mankind, 
My Countrymen then calPd on me, 
Men prudent and of high Degree, 

To thee, O King ! to go ; 
For they have often known my Might, 
Seen me returning from the Fight 

Bestain'd with Blood of Foe : 
For five of them I bound full tight, 

And quell'd the Eoten Clan, 
And on the Waves of Ocean bright 
I slew the Nickers of the Night, — 

D 



18 BEOWULF. 

A narrow-risk 5 I ran. 
The Weders Feud I did requite, — 
They sought their 111, — with dire Despite 

I ground them in the Fray ; 
And now against foul Grendel's Might, 
Against that Monster vile, the Fight 

Alone I would essay. 
High Prince of Seyldings, Lord of Danes, 

One Boon have I to crave of thee, 
Free Lord of men, Defence of Thanes, 

Deny not my Request to me, 

Now I so far have got, 
Alone with these my Earls, that I, 
Amid this Hero-company, 

May lustrate Heorot. 
I hear the Monster doth not feel 
On his wan Hide the Dint of Steel, 
I therefore, (so may my good Lord 
Be gentle-minded me toward,) 
Forego the Warriour's Sword to draw, 
And broad Shield yellow Orb of War, 
To grasp the Fiend in deadly Strife 
And Foe to Foe contend for Life. 6 
And thus in dire Suspense must he 
Await the Lord's supreme Decree, 

Whichever Death shall take : 
If he prevail and I should fall, 
Of Geatic Blood within the Hall 

A Feast I ween he'll make, 
As oft the Monster did withall 

When th' Hrethmen's Power he brake. 
Thou needest not my Helm to hide, 
But he will have me blood-be-died. 
Bear forth my Corpse, if I should fall 
And grant a Warriour's Burial, 
And let the lonely Traveller 

Un mourning eat and see, 
And the Fen-barrow register, 7 — 



CANTO VI. 19 

Ye need not make more lasting Stir 

For Like-wake unto me. 
But send I pray you safely back, 
If War take me, to Higelac 8 
The Battle-shroud that guards my Breast, 
Of all Habergeons the best, 

'Twas Hraedla's Legacy, 
And Weland's 9 Work that iron Vest. 

What Fate decrees must be." 



CANTO VII. 

[906] 

H ROTH-GAR replied, the Scylding Prince ; 
" My noble Friend, for our Defence 

And Aid thou seek'st our Land. 
The mightiest of Feuds of old 
Was ended by thy Father bold, 

Amongst the Wylfing Band 
When Heatho-laf, whom Javelin Race 1 
Might ne'er for Battle-terrours face, 

Fell 'neath his slaughtering Hand. 
Then Envoy to the Scylding Court 
The South-Danes o'er the Waves he sought, 
When o'er the Danish Heritage 

And Heroes' Treasure-town, 2 
(A mighty Sway in early Age,) 

I first assum'd the Crown. 
My elder Brother had pass'd away, 

Great Healf-dene's Son Heoro-gar 
No more enjoy 'd the Light of Day: 

Better than I was he by far, 

For I with Gold appeas'd the War, 
And sent unto the Wylfings, o'er 

The Back of mighty Sea, 3 
My antient Treasures. — Then he swore 

The Oaths of Peace to me. 
But woe is me, within my Mind, 



20 BEOWULF. 

To tell to any of Mankind 

What sore Reproach and sudden Hurt 

Grendel in Heorot hath wrought 

By his Designs of Ire, 
My Castle's Guard, my War-array, 
Has wan'd, as swept by Fate away, 

In GrendeVs Horrors dire. 
(Yet God the raging Reprobate 
From all his Crimes could separate, 4 ) 
The Sons-of-war, elate witb Beer, 5 

Oft o'er the Ale-cup Vows have made, 
In Hall, with Terrours of the Sear, 

To bide the Wrath of Grendel's Raid. 
Then when Day dawn'd at Morning-tide 
The Banquet-room was blood-be-died, 
And the whole Mead-hall, Bench and Floor, 
Reeking with Blood and sword-shed Gore. 6 
And my dear faithful Youths were left 
More few by those whom Death had reft. 
Now sit thee down, and eat, my Friend, 

Among my Warriours true, 
And as thy Mind shall Counsel lend 

With joyous Freedom do." 
Then for the valiant Band of Geats 
Were quickly clear'd the banquet Seats, 
And bold and friendly, gay and free 
They sat them down for Revelry. 
The Thane whose Office was to bear 
The twisted Horn performed his Care, 
Sweet Mead he pour'd that sparkled fair, 

The while the Poet sung : 
Serene in Heorot's fair Hall 
Arose the Heroes Festival, 
And not a little Pomp withall, 

The Geats and Danes amonff. 



21 



CANTO VIII. 

BUT haughty Hunferth, Eeg-Iafs Son [906] 
Who sat at royal Hroth-gar's Feet, 
To bind up Words of Strife 1 begun, 

And to address the noble Geat. 
The proud Sea-farer's Enterprize 
Was a vast Grievance in his Eyes : 
For ill could bear that jealous Man 

That any other gallant Thane 
On Earth, beneath the Heavens' Span, 

Worship beyond his own should gain. 
" Art thou Beo-wulf," then he cry'd, 
" With Brecca on the Ocean wide 

That didst in Swimming erst contend, 
Where ye explored the Fords for Pride, 
And risk'd your Lives upon the Tide 

All for vain Glory's empty End ? 
And no Man, whether Foe or Friend, 
Your sorry Match can reprehend. 
O'er Seas ye rowed, your Arms o'erspread 
The W T aves, and Sea-paths 2 measured, 
The Spray ye with your Hands did urge, 
And glided o'er the Ocean's Surge. 
The Waves with Winter's Fury boil'd 
While on the watery Realm ye toil'd, 

Thus seven Nights were told, 
Till thee at last he overcame, 
The stronger in the noble Game. 
Then him at Morn the billowy Streams 
In Triumph bare to Heatho-rasmes, 
From whence he sought his Fatherland, 
And his own Brondings' faithful Band, 
Where o'er the Folk he held Command, 

A City, Rings, and Gold. 
His Promise well and faithfully 



22 BEOWULF. 

Did Beanstan's Son perform to thee, 
And ill I ween, though prov'd thy Might 
In Onslaught dire and deadly Fight, 
Twill go with thee, if thou this Night 

Dar'st wait for Grendel bold." 
Beo-wulf spake ; " My Friend, I feel 
Good Ale hath made thy Brain to reel, 
So long thou dost of Brecca's tell, 
So long upon his Journey dwell ; — 
I tell thee sooth, no other Wight 

Can be compar'd with me, 
For Labours on the Waves, and Might 

Upon the stormy Sea. 
But he and I in early Youth, 
Had each to other plighted Troth 
Our Lives to risk on Ocean's Flood, 
And thus we made our Promise good, 
Our naked Swords in hand had we, 
What time we rowed upon the Sea, 
Against the Whale 3 Defence to bide. 
Away from me he could not glide 
More swiftly o'er the Ocean's Flow, 
And far from him I would not go : 

Five Nights we thus were cast, 
Till chilling Storms and darkling Night, 
And Floods, and Wind from northern Site, 
Stirr'd up the boiling Torrent's Might, 

And sunder'd us at last, 
Fiercely the Sea's mad Billows rav'd, 
The dark Sea-monster's Pride was chaf d, 
Then, hard and hand-lock'd, 4 did my mail 
For Help against my Foes avail, 
My interwoven battle Vest 
Lay wrought in Gold upon my Breast. 
The many-colour'd Foe did me 
Drag to the Bottom of the Sea 
Fast in his grim Embrace comprest, 
But there 'twas granted me the Pest 



CANTO VIII. 23 

To reach with Edge of Brand ; — 
The Mighty monster of the Main 
Fell, in the Rush-of-battle slain, 

By my victorious Hand. 

CANTO IX. 

"TT^ULL oft on me my hated Foes [1112] 

Jj With threatful Violence arose, 
With my dear Sword, 1 I did oppose, 

As fitting was to do, 
When near the Bottom of the Sea 
They all together set on me, 
The Workers of Iniquity 

No Satisfaction drew ; 
For they at Morn, with Daggers bor'd, 
And put to sleep beneath the Sword, 

On the Waves'-leavings 2 lay; 
That never since that cursed Horde 
Have hinder'd on the boiling Ford 

The Ocean Traveller's Way. 
At length, when eastward broke the Light, 
God's beauteous Beacon gleaming bright 3 

More calm the Ocean lay, 
I saw the rocky Nesses plain, 
The windy Walls that gird the Main. 4 
While yet his Courage lasteth good 

Fate 5 oft preserves a Warriour true, 
Thus with my Sword in Onslaught rude 

It fortun'd I nine Nickers slew. 
Ne'er 'neath the Arch of Heaven wide 

Heard I of harder Battle sped, 
Nor e'er upon the Ocean's Tide 

Of Champion more sore bested, 
I yet endured, and bare away 
My Life, though weary of the Fray : 
Then me the Sea to Finland bore, 



24 BEOwtlLP, 

Flood, boiling 1 Fords, on sandy Shore, 
Such Deeds of Arms I ne'er have heard 
Of thine, or Terrours of the Sword, 

Nor e'er did Brecca's Might, 
Nor any one among you all 
So dearly Worship win withall 

By bloody Sword in Fight, 
I speak not this in boastful Tone, 
Though thou thy brethren, yea thine own 

Most near of Kin didst slay, 
For which in Hell's eternal Lair 
Damnation's Curses thou shalt bear, 

Be thy Wit what it may, 7 
And here I tell thee, Ecg-laf s Son, 
The foul Wretch Grendel ne'er had done 

Thy Lord the Scathe and Dere, 
That now in Heorot is seen, 
Had but thy craven Spirit been 

W'hat thou wouldst make appear. 
But he has learned to hold in slight 
Your people's Feud, and fearful Might, 

The Scyldings' victor Bands, 
To force th' unwilling Pledge, and dare 
To war at Will, nor Dane to spare, 
To put to sleep in Death, and slay, 8 
Nor ever weens heroic Fray 

To meet at Gar-Dane Hands. 
But I, a Geat, with him shall hold 
A Fight unlook'd for, stern, and bold, 
And when next Day in Morning's Light, 
The sun the Heaven's Guardian bright, 

O'er Sons of men below, 
Comes shining forth with southern Rav, 
Then justly proud let him who may 

Unto the Mead-bowl go." 
Hoary and bold, the treasure-Chief, 
With Joy anticipates Relief, 

The bright Prince of the Danes, 



CANTO IX. '25 

The People's Shepherd with Delight 
Lists, while the valiant Geatic Knight 

His high Resolve explains. 
The Heroes' Laugh rose loud and clear 
With winsome Words and fair to hear 

And Mirth and Joy resound. 
While Wal-theow, great Hroth-gar's Queen 
Went forth adorn'd in golden Sheen, 
And greeted, mindful of their Kin, 

The Chiefs the Hall around. 
But first the Lady free and fair 
Unto the East-Dane Monarch bare 

The Goblet she had crown'd, 
And bade him joyously to fare 

With the brave Warriours round. 
The conquering King in joyous Haste 

Received th' o'erflowing Gold, 
And round the Helmings' Lady pac'd 

Unto both young and old, 
In every Part as on she sped 
Rich Vessels she distributed, 
Until the Time arrived when she, 
A Queen, with Mind of Dignity, 
Bedecked with Rings and Jewels fair 
The Mead-cup to Beo-wulf bare, 
The noble Geat she greeted fair, 
And God she thank'd with Wisdom rare, 
Her wish He had vouchsafed, a Chief 
Whom she could trust to for Relief. 
The flowing Cup from Waltheow 

The formidable Geat 
Receiveth, ever ready Foe 

In Battle's Rage to meet. 
Beo-wulf Son of Ecg-theow, spake : 
" E'en this did I my Object make, 

To do your People's call, 
When first I started o'er the Main-*.— 



26 BEOWULF. 

And enter'd with my hero Train 

My Ocean-boat withall, 
Or, fast ygraspt in hostile Strain, 

In murth'rous Struggle fall ; 
My Worship, as an Earl, Pll raise, 
Or bide the Ending of my Days 

Within the banquet Hall." 
Well lik'd the Dame the boastful W 7 ord, 
As down she sat beside her Lord, 9 
Free-born, and deck'd with golden Sheen, 
A mighty Nation's honour'd Queen. 
Then fresh, as erst, within the Hall, 

Proud W r ords and gay were echoed round, 
It was the People's Festival, 

A Nation's high triumphant Sound ; 10 
Till Healf-dene's Son at length arose 
To seek his Evening Repose ; 
He knew in Hall what rancorous Hate 
His hapless Vassals did await, 

When Sun-light was withdrawn, 
And night, in Darksomeness arrayed, 
Came forth the Form of whelming Shade u 

Beneath the Welkin wan. 
Arose each Warriour from his Seat, 
And each did other kindly greet ; 
Hrothgar Beowulf did address, 
He wished him Fortune and Success, 
His Wine-hall to his Keeping gave, 
And thus address'd the Warriour brave. 
" To other Mortal ne'er did I 
Commit my Mead-hall's Custody, 
Sith first the Sword I learned to wield, 
And Strength acquired to lift the Shield, 
Now therefore have and hold possess'd 
This House, of Palaces the best ; 
Be mindful of thy martial Fame, 
Shew forth the Valour of thy Name, 

'Gainst Foes keep wakeful Guard ; 



CANTO IX. 27 

For, canst thou do the glorious Deed, 
Thy largest Wish shall not exceed 
Thy Honours and Reward." 12 

CANTO X. 

FORTH from the Hall, with Hero-train, [1317] 
Departed then the royal Dane, 
The Scylding Chief, to seek Repose^ 
The War-king to his gentle Spouse. 
Now had the King of Glory bright 
Appointed against Grendel's Might, 
(So men relate the Tale aright) 

A Palace-warden great ; 
He to the Chieftain of the Danes 
His Duty wrought, and 'mongst his Thanes 

The Eoten did await. 
The Geat Prince trusted readily 
His proud Strength and his Courage high, 

Which the Creator gave, 1 
And from his sinewey Form ofF-drew 
His iron Mail, his Helmet too 
He dofF'd, and gave his Sabre true, 
The costliest of Blades, 2 into 

The Keeping of his Slave. 
His Instruments of Fight he told 

Him under Charge to take, 
Beowulf then, the Warriour bold, 

The Geatic Chieftain spake, 
And e'er he stepp'd on Bed to rest 
His Daring high in Words express'd 
" It is not that myself I feel 

Weaker in Strength for Deeds of Fray 3 
Than he, that I forego with Steel 

Grendel to put to sleep and slay. 
This might I do, (for God to know 4 

His fiendish Soul hath never sought) 



28 BEOWULF. 

Though rude and roughly he might do 
And my good Shield in Pieces hew 

With Pride by Works of Malice wrought, 
Yet shall we 'tend to War this Night, 
If he unarm' d will dare the Fight, 
And God, the wise and holy Lord, 
Shall Glory as he will award." 
The W r ar-beast laid him down to rest, 
His Cheek the downy Cushion press'd, 
And round him many a Seaman gay — 
Keclin'd upon the Benches lay. 
None thought his Country more to see, 
The People, and the City free, ^ 

W T here he had erst been bred : 
For, as they heard, so many a Dane 
A Death of Slaughter had o'erta'en 

Within that Wine-hall dread. 
But Heaven's eternal Lord decreed 
The Woof of Victory, 5 good speed 
Unto the Geats, and Help in Need, 
That all should through the Might of one 

O'ercome their Demon Foe, 
In His own Strength — and thus 'tis shown 
The Lord All-mighty rules alone 

The Race of Men below. 
But the bold Ghost, shade-stalking Sprite,' 3 
Came in the Wanness of the Night ; 
The Warriours on the Couches slept, 
The pinnacled Hall that should have kept, 
Save one, — for the Creator's Will, 
(Twas known to men,) forbade 
The Sin- scathe foul their Blood to spill 

Beneath the Evening Shade. 
The wakeful Chief, on Couch reclin'd, 

In rage and fell Despite 
Against the Foe, with wrathful Mind, 

Awaits the coming Fight. 



29 



CANTO XL 

CAME Grendel from his marshy Lair, [1413] 
When misty Shadows fall, 1 
God's Wrath upon his Brow he bare, 
And thought some Mortal to ensnare 

Within the lofty Hall. 
He 'neath the Welkin went till he 

The Banquet-palace wide, 
The Treasure-hall of Men, could see, 

With Vessels beautified. 
Not for the first Time now his Road 
He bent to Hroth-gar's fair Abode, 
Nor in his Life in Castle- ward 
Before or since found starker Guard. 
Before the mourning- House he halts, 
The iron-bound Gates he quick assaults 
Confin'd with strong fire-harden'd Bands, 
He seiz'd the Portals in his Hands, 
In rage the Hall's mouth 2 open tore, 
And stalks along the marble Floor. 
In Wrath he mov'd and Flame-like bright, 
Stood in his eyes a horrid 3 Light, 
For many a Chief he there descries, 
A kindred Band in peaceful wise 
Of Warriours sleeping round him lies 

Together in the Hall. 
Then laugh'd the Monster, as ere Day 
He thought each Hero there to slay, 

And on him Hope did fall 
Of full Repast :■■ — but never more, 
After that awful Night was o'er, 
Of Human-kind to taste the Gore 

Was for his Fate decreed. 
The valiant Thane of Higelac 
Saw how in sudden-made Attack 



30 BEOWULF. 

The Man-scathe would proceed ; 
Recks no Delay the Demon curst, 
But quick one slumbering- Thane at first 

He seizes on his Seat, 
Rends, bites asunder Joints, 4 drains 
The Life's Blood from the throbbing Veins, 

And doth in Cursed-morsels 5 draw 

Adown his darksome hollow Maw, 
And soon from off the dead Remains 

Devours the Hands and Feet. 
Then forth where, stretched in calm Repose, 

The Chieftain of the Geatic Band 
Full wakeful lay, the Monster goes, 

' And laid on him his baleful Hand. 
The Chief stretched out his Arm, in Thought 
Of Vengeance, and the Demon caught 
With sudden Grasp, on Elbow set, 

And soon the Monster found, 
That 'mongst the Sons of Men as yet 
So dread a Grasp he ne'er had met 

The World's wide Regions round. 
His craven Soul with Terrours caught, 

(Though 'Scape mote not be found,) 
Would fain in Flight have Safety sought, 
And hidd'n him in his lurking Place 
Midst Tumults of the Demon Race, 6 
For never in his Life as yet 
So stern Reception had he met 
But Higelac's courageous Knight 

His Recollection cast 
On his Night's Boast, and stood upright, 

And held the Demon fast. 
Till sudden from his Fingers burst 
And outward fled the Eoten curst. 
Forth stepp'd the Earl, for that foul Fiend 

At large had meant to flee, 
And would his marshy Lair have gain'd : 

His Fingers' Strength knew he 



CANTO XI. 

' Neath the fierce Warriour's Grasp of Might, 
And felt himself o'ermatch'd in Fight 
When the foul Wretch came back within 

Fair Heorot's Domains, 
The Mead-hall thundered with the Din, 

And for the valiant Danes, 
Their Ale was overturn'd, and rang 
The Palace with the salvage Clang, 
For both were strong, and both in Rage ; 
And while the Beasts-of-war 7 engage, 
So fierce the Tumult in the Hall 
Great Marvel 'twas it did not fall, 

The Castle to the Ground, 
But deftly had the Builder's Hands 
Secured it fast with iron Bands 8 

Inward and outward bound. 
But, as I heard, where fierce they fought, 
The Gold-chaced Benches bent athwart, 
Though Scylding Artificers thought 

That none of human Race could e'er, 
Though Murther-stain'd and Fury-fraught, 

Break down or loosen them from there, 
Save the resistless Flame's Embrace 9 
Should e'en devour them in their Place. 
Novel and strange a Sound doth swell, 10 
Base Terrour on the North-Danes fell, 

Who from the Walls heard plain 
The godless Recreant shriek, and sing 
His song of Rout untriumphing, 11 
His Lay 12 of sore discomfiting, 

And howl for Wound and Pain. 
He who of all Mankind possess'd 
Most Strength in this Life's Day 13 compressed 

The Fiend in Death's 14 stern Strain. 



32 BEOWULF. 



CANTO XII. 

[1575] 
HT^HE Earl's Protector thought not meet 

X. The Murtherer should alive retreat, 
His caitiff Life to no one he 
Suppos'd could ever useful be. 1 
Then quick Beowulf's Liegeman true 
Great Weland's antient Relic drew 
For of his Lord, that princely Wight, 
The Life he sought, (as there they might,) 2 

From Danger to protect. 
Bold Sons of Battle little thought, 
While thus laboriously they wrought, 
His Life on all sides as they sought, 
And hew'd, no Steel of costly Sort, 
Nor Sword that e'er on Earth was wrought, v 
Against the loathsome Sin-scathe brought 

On him would take Effect. 
But the proud Warriour would forego 

Victorious Brand and Sword, 
The hateful Spirit of the Foe, 
In this Life's Days, 4 by Death of Woe, 
Was doom'd into the Power to go 

Of the dread Demon Horde. 
The Foe of God, whose fell Despite 

'Gainst Man had oft wrought sinful Deed, 
Then found that 'gainst the Hero's Might 

His harden'd Hide was little speed. 
But Higelac's bold kindred Thane 
Doth him within his Grasp detain, — 
In Life was each to other Foe, — 
The foul Wretch waits the mortal Blow, 
His Shoulder wrench'd a Fissure shows, 
The Sinews crack, the Joints unclose, 

Success attends the Geat : 
Grendel must flee the Scene of Strife 



CANTO XII. 33 

To his fen Fastness, sick of Life, 

And seek his sad Retreat. 
He feels that now his earthly Race 
Is drawing to its End apace. 
The Battle o'er, the Danes perceived 
Their Object gain'd, their Will, achieved, 
The Chieftain come from distant Land, 
Prudent of Mind and bold of Hand, 
Had purified great Hroth-gar's Hall, 
And made it free from Evil's Thrall, 
In the Achievements of the Night, 
And in the Glory of his Might 

He joys right gallantly, 
For to the Eastern Danes his Plight 

Full well perform'd had he. 
The Woe they erst had rued forlorn 

Throughout their Land he had appeas'd, 
And from the Wrath they must have borne 

For long to come he them had eas'd. 
And this to all was clearly shown, 
When the victorious Chief laid down 
The Hand, and Arm, and Shoulder rent 
From the huge Fiend whom he had shent, 

The Grasp [they all had feared, 5 ] 
And 'neath the Arch's Soffitment 

On high the Trophy reared, 



CANTO XIII. 

NOW, as I heard, 1 at Morning Tide, [1667] 
Full many to the Gift Hall hied, 
And Leaders, far and near, 
In Wonder went around the Place 
The Footsteps of the Foe to trace ; 

Nor yet did any there 
Think hardly of his Life's Divorce, 2 
Surveying his inglorious Course, 



34 BEOWULF. 

How, weary and in Flight, away 

His Life-steps 3 faint he bare, 
O'ercome in Deeds of hostile Fray, 

To the dark Nickers 1 lair. 
The Wave was bubbling hot with Blood, 
And Poison mantled in the Flood 
With Dye of Death discoloured o'er, 
And boiling up with hostile Gore, 4 
When in his silent Fen the Fiend, 

Of every Joy bereaved, 
His Life, his heathen Soul resign'd, 

And Hell 5 him there received. 
Old Comrades thence depart again, 

And many a one proceeds 
On Horseback in the pleasant Plain, 

High Warriours on their Steeds ; 
And, as about the Lake they ride, 
Beowulf's Fame they magnified ; 
" From Sea to Sea, from South to North, 
Beneath the Sun, o'er all the Earth, 
They knew no Warriour bearing Shield 
A Kingdom's Fate more fit to wield " 
And blameless held with one Accord 
Hroth-gar their dear and happy Lord, — 

A Monarch good was he. — 
Sometimes the Chiefs their Coursers strong 
Would run in Race the Plains along, 

Where fit the Ground might be. 
Sometimes the Monarch's Bard discreet, 
His Mind with lofty Themes replete, 
Who antient Tales unnumber'd knew 
And modern joined thereunto, 
Began in Song to harmonize 
Beowulf's Deeds of high Emprize 
And in due Order to relate 

Successively the Story true, 
Then change his Theme and all narrate 

That he of Sigmund's 6 ' Valour knew, 



CANTO XIII. 35 

The Waelsing's Battles to record, 

Feud, Crimes, and Wanderings too, 
Which Fitela, who with him warr'd 

Alone of all Men knew, 
Uncle and Nephew ever true 

Each Contest's Dangers share 
And passing many Eotens 7 slew 

With Swords ygleaming fair, 
Full glorious Sigmund's Name hath grown 

Sith he in Death hath slept, 
For he, a Prince's Son, alone, 
Valiant, beneath the hoary Stoned 
Hath the gigantic Dragon slone, 

The Treasure Hoarde that kept. 
Alone the Dread of Deeds he dar'd, 
Not Fitela the Danger shar'd : 
To him was giv'n with Weapon true 
To pierce the scaly Dragon through 
That midst the Boiling of the Blood 9 
The lordly Iron 10 reeking stood, 

The Dragon sank and died, 
The wretched Chieftain by his Sword, 
Injoyment gain'd. of that Ring-hoard 

E'en as his Will might guide. 
His Boat the Waelsing Prince did store, 
And Treasure to his Vessel bore, 11 
The Serpent melted at his Feet, 
Consum'd by its internal Heat. 
Throughout the World in every Place 

Renown'd of Wanderers is his Name, 
The Refuge of the warriour Race, 

Through valiant Deeds ; — such first his 
Fame. — 
But after, when the W r ar and Might 
Of Here-mod became more light 
Unto his Foes he was betray'd, 
And Prisoner 'mongst the Eotens made, 

Sent forth an Out-cast lorn, 



m BEOWULF. 

Long toss'd on Sorrow's Billows vast, 
Upon his People he at last 
And on his iEthelings was cast, 

A deadly Care and Scorn. 12 
Thus many a prudent Man griev'd o'er 13 
The Chief's Exploit in Days of yore, 
Who deem'd him a secure Defence 
Against Misfortune's Influence, 
And thought the Prince's Off-spring bold 
His Father's Heritage should hold, — 

That to the People he 
To Treasure, and to fenced Town, 
The Realm of Men of War's-Renown, 
The Heritage of Scylding Crown 

A firm Defence should be. 
By all the Friends to Humankind 

There was a more illustrious Fame 
To Hige-lac's good Thane assign'd ; 

For Crime had sullied Sigmund's name. 14 
Sometimes upon their Horses fleet 
The Heroes rac'd the fallow Street, 
And many a Chief of sturdy Soul, 
When Morning's Rays o'erspread the Pole, 
Went forth the lofty Hall to see, 
The Wonder of Arts' Ministry. 
The King who ownM the Treasure Tower, 
Stept glorious from his nuptial Bower, 15 
Surrounded by his martial Power 

For Splendour far renown'd ; 
And Waltheow, the lovely Queen, 
Upon the Mead-hall Stairs is seen, 

Her Maidens following round. 



37 



CANTO XIV. 

[1843] 

MOUNTED the Prince the lofty Stairs, 
And to his Hall ascended, 
Where high 'neath gilded Roof appears 

Foul Grendel's Hand suspended. 
" Thanks for this Sight ;" great Hrothgar cries 
" Forthwith to the All-mighty rise : 
Full dread the Scathe and Ravage sore 
That I from Grendel's Malice bore, 
(May God, the King of Glory high, 
Wonders on Wonders multiply,) 

And little did I deem, 
While dreary thus my Palace stood, 
Oppress'd by War, and stain'd with Blood, 
That in my Life-time ever would 

The Day of Vengeance beam. 
My Chiefs, o'erwhelm'd with Grief and Pain, 
Small Hope erewhile could entertain, 

Though noble-spirited, 
The Nations' Land-work to maintain 

'Gainst Fiends and Phantoms dread. 
Now, through God's might, 1 one Chief hath wrought 
What overpass'd our deepest Thought. 
Throughout the Regions of the Earth, 

Whatever be the Matron's name, 
Who gave this noble Hero birth, 

(If yet alive to know his Fame,) 
Well may she say that Heaven hath smil'd 
On her in granting such a Child. 
And, best of Men, my Heart on thee ; 
As mine own Son, shall fixed be ; 
Preserve the Peace thou'st won for me ; 

Thy earthly Wishes' end 
Shall ne'er be left a goad to thee, 2 

Far as mv Pow'rs extend : 



38 BEOWULF. 

For Deeds of far less lofty Name 
My royal Bounty often claim. 
Unfading Honours and Renown 

Thy conquering Sword hath gain'd. — 
May God thy Life with Blessings crown 

As He as yet hath deign'd." 
Then spake Beowulf, Ecgtheow's Son ; 
" The Work of Valour we have done 
With Joy, and dar'd with stalworth Might 
The uncouth Monster's dangerous Fight, 
And would thou couldst the Fiend have seen 
Fainting amid thy Treasures sheen; 
I thought the Monster to have hound 
With Fetters on the Battle-ground 

His Death-bed where he lay, 
Thus had he lain beneath my Arm, 
In caitiff Fear and stark Alarm, 

Had he not slipp'd away, 
But since it was not Heaven's Will, 
My Object I could not fulfill, 

I could not keep the Prey. 
I did not rashly on him fall, 

The Life-destroyer, carelessly, 
For far too strong was he withal, 

The Fiend in his Activity. 
Yet hath he here behind him left 
His Arm and Shoulder from him reft, 

As bond of Life and Flight ; 
But nought of Comfort can he gain 

Thus in his present Plight, 
Nor yet the longer shall remain 
For this on Earth, the loathsome Bane, 
O'erwhelm'd with Sin's infernal Stain, 
Whose Wound in Bonds of deadly Pain 

Grasps him already tight, 3 
Awaiting, stain'd with Crimes and Ills 
The Doom the pure Creator wills." 
A silent Man was Ecglaf's Son, 



CANTO XIV. 39 

His boastfull Speeches all were done, 

Now, through the Hero's might, 
That on the Roof the Nobles saw 
The Monster's Hand and sturdy Claw, 
Each Nail like Steel, erect and long, 
The Heathen's Hand-spur 4 sharp and strong 

The Terrour of the Bold. 
Each said the Demon's bloody Hand 
Not e'en the hardest mortal Brand 
Would Vail to touch or to withstand 

Or Weapon good of old. 



CANTO XV. 

THEN soon, as royal Hrothgar bade, [1975] 
The festal Hall was ready made, 
Wrought Man and Maiden to prepare 
The Hall of Guests the Wine-house fair, 
The richly pictur'd Web-work falls 
In gold Devices o'er the Walls, 
A w r ondrous Work to every Man, 
Who will its varied Beauties scan. 
But that fair Hall, though iron bound, 
Sore injur'd by the Fray they found, 
The Hinges were in Pieces torn, 

The Roof alone was sound. 
As the foul sin-stain'd Wretch had gone, 
Hopeless of Life, in Flight forlorn ; 
No easy Task whoe'er he be 
Who tries from such a Hall to flee. 
But each one of the Sons of Sin, 1 

With Soul be-tenanted, 
Who lives the Earth's wide Bounds within, 
Perforce compell'd shall enter in 

To seek the ready Stead, 
Where his huge Body lies reclin'd, 
The feasting o'er, to Sleep resign'd, 



40 BEOWUL R 

Upon his dying Bed. 
'Tis Time and Season Healfdene's Son 

Should to his Hall repair, 
The King himself his Will makes known 

To join the Banquet there. 
More numerous Tribes were never found, 
I heard, their Chieftain gather'd round, 
And glorious on the Benches lie, 

With plenteous Feast elate, 
Hrothgar and Hrothwulf, 2 and they ply 
Full many a Mead-cup joyously, 
As Kinsman good, of Daring high, 

In that high Hall of State. 
All throng'd with Friends was Heorot 
And 'mongst the Scyldings there was not 

A Deed of treacherous Hate. 
But now the Prince's liberal Hand 
Presents Beowulf Healfdene's Brand, 
A golden Banner fair to see, 
The Guerdon of his Victory, 
On twisted Shaft so gaily streaming, 
A Helmet and a Byrnie gleaming. 
That pretious Weapon saw the Danes 

Before the Warriour borne, 
While he with Joy receives and drains 

In Hall the flowing Horn. 
Nor needs the aged Chieftain bold 
His royal Bounty small to hold 

Before his Warriour Band 
For ne'er in friendlier wise, I'm told, 
At Feast, four Gifts adorn'd with Gold 

Gave generous Monarch's Hand. 
The Helm, the Head's Defence, inlet, 
Contain'd, in wiry Chasing set, 
About the Crest, an Amulet, 
That ne'er old hard-scour'd 3 Sword may wound 
The Brow that Spell is cast around, 4 
When 'gainst the Raging of his Foes P 



CANTO XV. 41 

With Shield bedight, the Warriour goes. 
Next bade the Earls' Defence prepare 
Eight noble Steeds, adorned fair 
On Cheek, within th' Inclosure there 

Before the Hall to bring. 
On one a Saddle rich was dight, 
Gleaming with Gold and Treasures bright, 
Whene'er he entered in the Fight 

The War Seat of the King. — 
In War the wide-renown'd one's Might 5 , 
When fell the dead Men in the Fight, 

Was never slumbering. 
The Chieftain of the Ingwins' Band 
Then gave into Beowulf's Hand 
The Horse and Armory's 6 Command, 
And hop'd that long the Chieftain bold 
The honourable Post might hold. 
Thus manly did the Monarch true, 
The Treasure-guard of Heroes, do, 
With Horses thus and Treasures due 

War's Onslaught guerdon well : 
And thus shall none e'er censure those, 
Who, as unerring Justice shews, 

The Truth will ever tell. 



CANTO XVI. 

ON ev'ry Youth that o'er the Main [2093] 

Had wander'd with the Geatic Thane, 
While yet th' enlivening Mead-bowl flow'd. 
High Gifts the Lord of Earls bestow'd ; 
And bade with Gold to compensate 1 

The Warriour's deadly Bane, 
That in his Sin and savage Hate 

The Monster Fiend had slain ; 
As many more the Reprobate, 
But for the wise Decrees of Fate 2 



42 BEOWULF. 

And Courage of the valiant Geat, 

To Slaughter was full fain. 
The great Creator of the Earth 

Rul'd and still ruleth all Mankind; 
And His high Gift of boundless Worth 

The Wisdom of a thoughtful Mind . 
Much both of Love and Loathing strong 
He bears, on Earth who struggles long. 
Now Healfdene's warriour Chiefs among 
Arose the gladsome Voice of Song. 
The Harp pour'd forth its Measure gay, 
And oft repeated was the Lay, 
And Hrothgar's Poet would relate 
The Wreck of Finn's unhappy State, 
And how on Friesland's Battle plain 
The Scylding Hero Hneef was slain ; 
When Hildeburh, unhappy Fair, 

Could ill applaud the E6tens ,;3 Troth, 
For she hath seen her Brethren dear 
And Children, wounded with the spear, 

One after other fall in Youth : — 
That was a Dame of Fate full drear. 
Hoce's Daughter proud did not in vain 4 
Lament at Morn her Kinsman slain, 
When she beheld his deadly Foe 
Where most he joyed on Earth below. 
The Thanes that Finn's Command obey'd 
The Fate of War full few had made, 
That ne'er on Battle Plain he might 
With Hengest's Legions dare the Fight, 
Nor yet the Remnant of his Band 
Defend against the Warriour's Hand. 
To him they Terms of Peace assign, 
A Palace for him to resign, 

A Hall and lofty Throne, 
That o'er the Frisian Chiefs Domains 
With Eotens' Sons conjoin'd, the Danes 
Should half the Power own. 



CANTO XVI. 43 

That Folcwald/s Son, when high in State 

At Treasure-gifts he daily sate, 

Should honour Hengest's Danes with Rings, 

And solid Gold and pretious Things, 

As largely as to Frisian kin 

He gave his Banquet-hall within 

Thus was the Treaty ratified, 

And Oaths were ta'en on either Side, 

Finn unto Hengest swore to guide 

The remnant of his Realm and State, 

E'en as his Witan should decide 

In Wisdom all deliberate : 
That none by Word or Deed should break 
The Peace, nor of the Quarrel speak. 
Though chieftainless and forc'd to bow 
Beneath their Prince's Slaughterer now, 
If Frisian e'er in Language rude 
Should make Allusion to the Feud, 
Th' uncourteous Words should be redress't 
And with the Sword be set at rest. 
The Oath is sworn, and Gold is poured 
From out the warlike Scyldings' Hoard ; 
The Chief is laid upon his Bier, 
And near him on the Pile appear, 
And Boar in harden'd iron stark ; 
The golden Swine, 6 the blood-stain'd Sark 
And iEthelings a number great 
By wounds awarded unto Fate 

Some fell the Corpse upon 
Then Hildeburh, that princely Dame, 
Bade them commit unto the Flame 

The Body of her Son ; 7 
To set it on the Death-pyre there 
And on the Shoulder sadly bear. 
The Lady mourn'd her noble Child 
In Songs of Lamentation wild. 
The Warriour mounted 8 on the Pyre, 
Then quick arose the Sheet of Fire, 



44 BEOWULF. 

And thro' the Welkin wound, 
Death's blazing Beacon, dread and dire, 

Crackling before the Mound : — 

The Helmets melted round, 
And the Wounds' Portals 9 burst afresh, 
The loathsome Sword-bites of the Flesh, 

To give the Blo*-d its Way : 
That all who fell in War's dread Game 
The greediest of Spirits, Flame, 10 

Devour'd without delay. 
The Flower of either Nation's Name 

Thus sadly pass'd away. 



CANTO XVII. 

THEN reft of many a cherish't Friend [2243] 
Again the Warriours homeward wend, 
And Friesland seek, their natal Halls, 
Their City's high embattled W T alls. 
Hengest with Finn in Friendship true 
Abode the deadly Winter thro', 
And to his Land Attention gave, 
Altho' he might have dared the Wave. 
In boiling Fury rose the Main 

And battled with the Wind, 
When Winter in an icy Chain 

Its Billows fierce did bind, 
Until the circling Year once more 

Rose o'er the Land in Light ; 
80 yet doth He who ruleth o'er 

The Weather glory-bright. 
When Winter now was past away 
And Earth had don'd her Mantle gay, 
Forth on his Way the Wand'rer speeds, 
His Spirit set on vengefull Deeds, 
No Dangers of the Sea he heeds, 
But War he seeks and fell Despite 



CANTO XVII. 45 

For Memory of the Eoten Might. 
Nor did he thus avoid the Blow 
That lays all earthly Creatures low, 
The dark Hunlafing's lawless Hand 
Thrust thro' his Heart the warlike Brand: 1 
That thus the Eotens keenly knew 
What Warriours Finn around him drew, 
And bale of the remorseless Sword, 
Which down upon his Dwelling pour'd. 
Guthlaf and Oslaf o'er the Sea 
In Sorrow mourn'd the Treachery, 

And part avenged their Woes. 
Nor could the crafty Chief withal 
His Breast controul to see his Hall 

Beleagur'd by his Foes. 
The Prince amongst his Troops were slain, 
His wretched Queen was captive ta'en. 
The Prince's Household, and whate'er 
Of Gold and Gems were founden there 
They quickly to their Vessels bare, 

And o'er the Ocean's bed, 
Together with the lordly Fair, 

Unto the Danes they led. 
So ceas'd the Gleemen's tuneful Sound 
And Mirth arose the Benches round, 
And Wine was round the Table sent 
In Cups of marvellous Ornament. 
Then forth proceeded Waltheow, 
A golden Crown upon her Brow, 
Where, true as yet and free from Hate, 
The two fair Cousins peaceful sate : 
There Hunferth also had his Seat 
At aged Hrothgar's royal Feet, 
And each one deem'd his Courage high, 
Albeit in the Days gone by 
In War's dread Game he false had been 
To those who were his nearest Kin. 
Thus spake the Queen : " Receive," said she, 



46 B E O W U L F. 

" This cup, my Lord, and happy be, 
Gold-prince of Men, 2 do thou address, 
Our Geatic Friend with Gentleness, 

As fits thee well to do. 
Be joyous now, and far and near 
With Gifts their friendly Spirit cheer, 

And Amity renew. 
' Tis said this Hero will be styled 
Henceforth as Thine adopted Child, 
Now Heorot, the Heroes' hall, 

Once more is free from Stain, 
Injoy then now the Festival 
While yet thou may'st, — thy People all 

And this thy fair domain, 
Leave to thy Kin when Heav'n shall call 

Thee hence to wend again. 
I know my winsome Hrothwulf will 
With honourable Zeal fulfill 
Tow'rd the young Scions of our Race, 
Shouldst thou first die, the Guardian's Place. 
I ween that to our Offspring he 
Will bear him passing tenderly, 
If he will on his memory press 

What Favour we have shewn, 
What in the Day of his Distress 3 
To raise his Fame and Happiness 

Our friendly Care hath done." 
She said, and turned where "mongst the Throng 
Of Heroes' Children, fair and young, 

Sat the Crown Princes twain, 
Hrothric and Hrothmund, and beside 
The royal Brethren in his Pride 
The gallant Geatic Thane. 



47 



CANTO XVIII. 

OFT to the Warriour proud was borne [2384] 
With friendly Words the flowing Horn, 
Where Gold in strange Devices sheen 
Gleaming in twisted Art was seen ; 
Rings and a Robe he now receives 
All ruby red upon the Sleeves, 
The noblest Collar too that I 
Have ever known beneath the Sky, 
To Herebyrht sith Hama bare 
Away the Brosings' Collar 1 fair, 

The Gems and Treasure Chest, 
Then in Hermanaric's Meshes wound, 
The fatal Counsel took and found 

Death's everlasting rest. 
That Ring had Swerting's Nephew good, 
When 'neath the Banners last he stood, 

The Treasure to defend, 
Amidst the Din of Death and Blood, 

And there he met his End. 
For Pride he had unjustly fought 
And feud against the Frisians sought. 
The pretious Freight the Victor bore 
The Waves' broad Chalice 2 swiftly o'er; 
The Chief beneath his Buckler sunk, 
The lance his royal Blood had drunk, 
And with his Life for aye resign'd 
The Ring and Mail he left behind : 
While Warriours of less lofty Grade 
The Treasures of the slain invade, 
And Geatic Heroes tenanted 
The darksome Dwellings of the Dead. 
Hark thro' the Hall what Accent breaks, 
Again the royal Lady speaks 
" Receive this Ring, Beowulf dear, 



48 BEOWULF. 

And long enjoy this Vestment fair, 

And flourish gallantly ; 
Increase thy Might with skilfull Mind, 
And to these gentle Youths full kind 

Let all thy Counsel be. 
And I thy Deeds of high Emprize 
Will recompense in lofty-wise, 
For loud thy noble Exploits call 

On every generous Name, 
Both far and near, and great and small, 
Far as the Ocean Tide withall 
Surrounds its earthly windy Wall, 3 

To own thy Praise and Fame. 
Live thou a happy Chief, and I 
Grant thee a copious Treasury : 
A worthy Son to me be found, 

Valiant in Arms, and gay in Hall, 
For every Youth thou see'st around 

Is faithful to his Brethren all. 
Sound in his Duty, every Thane 
Is courteous, gentle, and humane, 

The People all are true ; 
E'en with the lively Mead Cup flowing, 
The Warriours, tho' with Spirits glowing, 4 

As I command them do." 
She said and to her Seat she went. — 
The Feast was passing excellent, 
The generous Wine-cup flow'd uncheck'd; 
None of that antient Creature reck'd 
Grim Fate, 5 how it was on its Way, 
When, at the closing of the Day, 
His Couch great Hrothgar should have sought, 
Against full many of his Court. 
Within a Troop of gallant Thanes 
To ward the festal Hall remains, 
The tables clear'd, they strewed the Ground 
With Beds and Bolsters all around, 
And readily, with Labour spent, 



CANTO XVIII. 49 

In peaceful Rest the Menial bent. 

Close at their Heads in Order stood 

Their warlike Shields of polish'd Wood, 

And o'er the valiant iEthelings 

Gleam'd their bright Helms, their Hawberk Rings, 

And Spears of weary Weight withall : — 

Such was the Custom of the Hall. 

W T hether at Home or on Campain, 

Ready for War they aye remain, 

Whene'er their Lord their Aid may need. — 

A faithful People they indeed. 



CANTO XIX. 

THEY sank to sleep. — One Hero there [2502] 
For that Night's Rest full sorely paid ; 
As oft befell, when Grendel made ; 
His Visits to that Palace fair : 
Evil that Monster wrought, till Death 
Depriv'd him of his loathsome Breath, 
That all Mankind might recognize 
Th' Avenger of Impieties. 
But Grendel' s Mother, Wretch impure, 
Broods o'er her Son's Discomfiture, 
A female Demon doomed to dwell 
In Terrours midst the Water's swell, 
Sith first the lawless Hand of Cain 1 
Became his only Brother's Bane, 
Then forth with Murder stain'd he sped, 
Of favour'd Man the Pleasures fled, 

To seek the dreary Wold, 
And there he gave unhallow'd Birth 
To Creatures grim that haunt the Earth, 

Goblins and Demons old. 
Of these was Grendel foul begot, 
The hateful Wolf 2 of Heorot 
Whom yet a bold and wakeful Wight 



50 BEOWULF. 

Dar'd to embrace in deadly Fight ; 
For well he knew his Courage high 

Th' All-mighty did bestow, 
And in His Favour ever nigh 
For Comfort would and Aid rely, 

And thus subdued the Foe, 
Who thence in Shame and Misery 

To Death's dark Realm did go* 
The mother Fiend, a Soul had she 
Blood-greedy like the Gallows-tree, 3 
And she for deadly Vengeance' Sake 
Will now the Battle undertake. 
Then quick to Hrothgar's princely Hall 

She bent her baleful Way ; 
The Hring-Dane Youth in Slumbers all 

Around the Benches lay. 
Quick woke the Earls the sudden Din 
When Grendel's Mother enter'd in. 
Less Terrour paralyz'd the Crew 
At the foul female Monster's View, 
As Woman's Battle-rage less fraught 
With Fear than Man's is ever thought, 
When hammer'd Sword all stain'd with Gore 
Hews with its doughty Edge the Boar 
That nods the Warriour's Helmet o'er. 
Throughout the Hall each hastes to wield 
His Sword, and lifts his ample Shield, 
Nor stays with Helm his Brow to brace, 
Nor Byrnie o'er his Breast to place, 

When first arose th' Alarm : 
The hateful Fiend, discover'd, would 
In Flight have made her Safety good, 

And left the Palace calm, 
But ere her fenny Lair she sought, 
One valiant Noble she had caught, 
(By the good Chief to all preferr'd 
Twixt the two Seas his Realm that gird, 
Sworn Comrade of the royal Dane,) 



CANTO XIX. 51 

And in his Sleep remorseless slain. 
The valiant Geat was then away, 
He in another Chamber lay, 

After his Guerdon high. 
The well known Hand the Fiend hath got : — 
Then thro' the Vaults of Heorot 

Arose a doleful Cry ; 
Deep Sorrow was renew'd, for, troth, 
Full dismal the Exchange, which both, 
On either Side, however loth, 

With Comrades' Lives must buy. 
The prudent King dejected stood, 
A hoary Warriour sad in Mood, 
When list'ning how the princely Thane, 
His dearest Comrade, had been slain 
Soon the victorious Geat they call, 
Who, with his following, to the Hall 

At early Dawn repairs, 
W T here th' aged Chieftain sought to know 
If, after this sad Tale of Woe, 
The Lord would grant him here below 

Relief from Sighs and Cares. 
As o'er the Floor the Warriour hied, 
His faithful Followers by his Side, 
The Hall resounded to his Stride, 
Then the wise Chief the Ingwines' Lord, 
The Geat addrest with gentle Word, 

And of his Summons sought 
What urgent Cause could be inferr'd, — 

What Fortune Night had brought ? 



CANTO XX. 

[2642] 

THEN quick the Scylding Chief replies : — 
" Talk not of happy Destinies, 
For Sorrow's heart-corroding Pains 
Again are fall'n upon the Danes : 



52 BEOWULF. 

iEschere is ta'en from off the Earth, 

The Brother by an elder Birth 

Of Yrmenlaf, who ever knew 

My Secrets and my Counsels drew, 

My constant Comrade true and good 

Whene'er we in the Battle stood, 

When Warriours rush'd, together dashing, 

The Boars above their Helmets clashing, — 

! would that ev'ry Hero were 
As chivalrous as bold iEschere. 
And him within my own Domain 
The cunning Murther-fiend 1 has slain : 

1 wot not if he yet be fled 
Beglutted with the Blood he 's shed; 
Her 2 Talons have aveng'd the Feud, 
That thou last Night in GrendePs Blood 
Didst quench the Scathe and murderous Wrong 
He wrought my Warriours all too long. 

His forfeit Life he justly paid ; 

But now another Wretch of Sin 
Assault upon my Hall has made, 

And would avenge her cursed Kin. 
Sad is the Feud may Thanes declare 
While they their Breasts with Anguish tear 
In Sorrow for this Warriour fair, 

Now lowly lies the Hand, 
That oft accomplished whate'er 

Your Pleasure might demand. 
This Couple gaunt have oft been known, 
'Tis said, to stalk the Marches lone ; 
One Wretch (as far as Eye could scan) 

A female Figure bore, 
While the Similitude of Man 

The other Monster wore, 
But larger than the human Race 
This Denizen of th' Exiles' Place, 
And him of old Men Grendel nam'd ; — 
No Father's Care they ever claim'd, 



CANTO XX. 53 

And whether any Off-spring they 

Have e'er begotten none can say. 

They dwell upon the lonely Moor, 

The windy Nesses of the Shore, 

The Wolf's dark Lair, the fenny Tract, 

Near where a Mountain Cataract 

Its Course from Cloudy Headlands wends, 

Then sullen 'neath the Earth descends. 

It is not far, — a Mile from here, 

Where stands the Monster's sluggish Meer, 

The rinded Groves close Circle make, 

And overhang the dismal Lake ; 

And there upon the Water sheen 

A wondrous Flame at Night is seen. 

No Man the World's wide Regions round 

Doth know that dark mysterious Ground ; 

For when the Hart with Antlers high 

Before the Hounds is forced to fly 

And seeks the Wood's Obscurity, 

All weary with the Chase, 
He sooner will resign his Blood 
Than Safety seek in such a Flood : — 

It is no gentle Place, 3 
And thence at times the blended Wave 
Will wan against the Welkin rave, 

W T hen Storms go blustering o'er, 
And loathsome Tempests bickering rise 
Till Tears bedew the mournful Skies, 4 

And Heaven's high Thunders roar. 
But now again our Hopes are stay'd 
On thee for Counsel and for Aid : — 
As yet to thee has not been shown 
The sinful Monster's Dwelling lone, 
Still, if thou darest, seek his Fold, 

And I will thee repay, 
As heretofore, with Treasures old, 
With Riches and with twisted Gold, 

If e'er thou com'st away. 



54 BEOWULF. 



CANTO XXI. 

THUS Ecg-theow's bold Son replies, [2765] 
" Restrain thy Grief, my Chieftain wise ; 
Tis better to avenge a Friend 
Than weep for his untimely End, 
Each waits the End of Life's brief Span, — 
Then, while he may, let every Man 
Win Worship — thus in Death to rest, 
As ever for a Warriour best. 
Rise, Guardian of the Realm, and see 
The Path where Grendel's Mate doth flee. 
I pledge my Gage he shall not take 
His Flight into the dreary Lake, 
Or Mountain Wood, or earthy Cave, 
Or Caverns of the Ocean Wave, 

Wherever he may flee ; 
But thou this Day thy Sorrows brave 

As I expect of thee." 
The aged Monarch at the Word 
Sprang up and thank'd Heaven's mighty Lord, 
A Horse with curl'd and flowing Mane 
Caparison'd with Bit and Rein 
The sage Chief mounts, and with him bright, 
Each with his pondrous Shield bedight, 

A Troop of Heroes wend : 
Wide are their Foot-prints seen, as o'er 
The spreading Wold and murky Moor 

Their Steps the Warriours bend. 
And of their kindred Thane iEschere, 

Who Hrothgar's Castle strong 
Had erst most nobly holden, bare 

The lifeless Form along. 
Athwart the stony Nesses grey 

The princely Youths repair, 
Their strange and solitary Way 



CANTO XXI. 55 

By headlong Precipices lay, 

By many a Nicker's Lair. 
The Chief proceeds before the Train, 
With few wise Men to view the Plain, 
Till soon he found the Mountain Bough 
O'erhang the dark Rock's hoary Brow, 

A gloomy joyless Wood, 
While dreary and disturb'd below 

Mysterious Water stood. 
The Sight, it was a Sight of Pain 
And Grief to every valiant Dane, 

And wearisome to bear 
To Thanes who loved the Scylding's Throne, 
For there to every Earl well known 
They saw upon the Sea-cliff lone 

The Helmet of iEschere. 
Hot raged beneath the poisonous Flood, 
All boiling with invenom'd Blood, 
W T hile sad at times the Trumpet rang, 
With dreary Note, and heavy Clang. 
The Youth, around the Lake reclin'd, 

Cast o'er its Waves their Eye, 
Where Monsters of the Serpent Kind 
Their Ways with huge Sea-dragons wind 

In Wonder they descry, 
W 7 hile on the circling Cliffs they find 

The savage Nickers lie; 
(Which oft a Journey sad portend 
To those who dare attempt to wend 
At Morn across the Ocean dread, 
With Sail before the Breezes spread.) 
In Wrath the Warriours onward sped 
To where the Horn's loud Echo led ; 
But first the Chieftain with his Bow 
Had laid one savage Monster low, 
For, wetted in his Life's best Blood, 
The barbed Missile quivering stood, 
That slow he moves along the Main, 



56 BEOWULF. 

Nor e'er shall battle there again, 

For Death has clos'd his Eyes : 
Of all his Power to injure shorn, 
Close press'd, his Flesh with Bear-sprits torn, 
Cruelly hook'd, hard press'd and worn, 
Upon the Nesses' Margin drawn. 

The wondrous Monster lies. 
Beowulf now, his Armour dight 
Reckless of Life, prepares for Fight : 
His iron Vest of ample Size, 
In Colours wrought of fair Device, 
That well knew how from hostile Sword 
The Flesh that beds the Bones 1 to ward, 
That War's dire Clutch nor Grasp of Wrath 
The Wearer's Life might ever scathe, 

Beneath the Waves must wend ; — 
The Mail-hood the white Helm that strains, 
With Treasure rich, and wrought with Chains, 
Must go beneath the watery Plains, 

Where the dark Billows blend. 
'Twas marvellous Work of Days of Yore, 
Set with the Image of the Boar, 
That neither Brand nor warlike Knife 
Might bite 2 to hurt the Hero's Life, 
Nor was the Aid of small Extent 
Which Hrothgar's Orator had lent ; 
A hilted Blade of ancient Fame, 
And Hrunting was that Treasure's Name, 
Harden'd with Blood, the Steel-edge keen 
With poison'd Twigs had stained been : — 
It ne'er deceiv'd, that goodly Brand, 
The Chief who wielded it in Hand, 
And dared to seek in bold Emprize 
The Station of his Enemies ; 
And this was not its first Essay 
At Deeds of Arms and Battle's Play. 
But Ecglaf 's crafty Son forgat 
What Boasts, when drunk'n in Hall he sat, 



CANTO XXI. 

He made, and gave his trusty Brand 
Into a nobler Warriour's Hand. 
Himself he dared not Battle brave, 
Nor Worship win beneath the Wave, 
Risk Life, and lordly Deed achieve. 
To Honour thus and martial Fame 
For aye he forfeited his Claim : — 
Not so the other when bedight 
To dare the Dangers of the Fight. 



CANTO XXII. 

[2945.] 

THEN Ecgtheow's Son, the Geatic Thane, 
Addressed : " Brave Kinsman of Healfdene. 
Gold Prince of Men, of Counsel deep, 
Bethink thee and thy Promise keep. 
As I, to aid thee in thy Need, 
Go forth to dare a venturous Deed ; 
And, if in thy Defence I die, 
Do thou a Father's Place supply, 

Protect my Followers brave. 
But send I pray thee safely back 
Unto my Lord great Higelac 

The Gifts thy Bounty gave. 
That Hrethel's Son thereby may see 
A liberal Chief I met in thee, 
Lavish of Rings and Treasure good, 
And used thy Bounty while I could. 
And see to Hunferth's Hand restored 
The Relic old his waved Sword 

So hard of Edge withall ;* 
And by the Blade of Hrunting I 
Will Worship win and Honour high 

Or else in Battle fall." 
He said, nor would an Answer bide. 
But fearless plung'd into the Tide, 
And for a Day's- While 2 struggled he. 
i 



58 BEOWULF. 

Before the Bottom he mote see. 
The greedy Fiend beneath that dwelt 
The Stirring of the Waters felt, 
And knew that of the Sons of Man 

Some daring Stranger sought to gain 
The Spot, that for a Century's Span 

Had own'd her grim and greedy Reign. 
Quick towards the Chief the Monster draws, 
And grasps him in her loathsome Claws, 

Yet can she not prevail 
The noble Warriour's Flesh to tear, 
For round him in his Hawberk fair 
In Iron lockt of charmed Ware, 3 

Nor can her loathsome Nail 
Avail to gain an Entrance there 

Or penetrate the Mail. 
When to the lowest Depths they drew, 
The She-wolf bare the Warriour true 

Unto her drear Abode : 
And, tho' full wrathfull was his Mood, 
He might not wield his Weapon good 

Upon his wat'ry Road : 
For many a Monster him opprest 
And, as he swam, full sore distrest, 
The Ocean-fiends the Chief assail, 
And with their War-tusks brake his Mail, 
And press'd him sore ; — the Warriour good 
Perceiv'd at length that safe he stood 
I wot not in what Hall of Bale, 4 
Where Water might not him assail, 
Nor, for the Covering of the Place, 
Involve him in the Flood's embrace 
With sudden Whelm : a Fire-light there 
Cast round a blank and paly Glare ; 
The mighty She- wolf 5 of the Place 
He soon perceived, and rush'd apace, 

His Weapon in his Hand, 
With stalworth Arm his Sword he swang, 



CANTO XXII. 59 

That round her Head the Mail-hood rang, 
And loud its greedy War-lay sang 6 

Beneath the Chieftain's Brand. 
'Tis vain; — his Weapon cannot bite 
To slaughter the accursed Sprite, 
The Sabre's Edge the Prince deceiv'd, 

And fail'd him at his utmost Need, 
Tho oft erewhile it had achieved 

Full many a good and gallant Deed, 
Oft shear'd the Helm and Hawberk grey 
Of those who fell beneath its Sway, 
And ne'er before did it betide 
Its Virtue to be vainly tried. 
The Prince's Rage now kindles high, 

Yet slacks he not his Hand, 
But, mindful of his Dignity, 

Flung forth the twisted Brand, 
On Earth to lie its steely Length, 
And trusted to his Sinews' Strength. 
Such Courage must a Man display, 
Who seeks to win in Battle's Day 
A lasting Name in dangerous Strife, 
Nor cares about the Risk of Life. 
Then, reckless of her savage Feud, 

Fast by her Shoulder hent 
The Geatic Chief the Monster rude, 
And, sorely chaf'd in wrathful Mood, 
With Wrench so stern the Strife renewed, 

That on the Floor she bent. 
But soon full roughly she repaid 
The stout Attack that he had made, 
So grimly grappling and so well, 
That the strong Warriour reel'd and fell. 
Then sorely she beset his Life, 
And drew her broad and brown-edg'd 7 Knife 

To avenge her hatefull Son, 
But o'er Beowulf's Shoulders lay 
The braided Net, the Hawberk grey, 



60 BEOWULF. 

Gainst Point and Edge to close the Way, 
And Life to guard in Battle's Day, 

That Entrance found she none. 
And now the Geatic Champion brave 
Had perish'd 'neath the stormy Wave, 
But that his iron Corselet good 
His temper'd battle Net, 8 withstood ; 
And holy God, who rules on high, 
Awards at will the Victory, 

God infinitely wise. 
The King of Heav'n beheld the Fight, 
And gave Decision for the right ; — 
With easy Spring and Movement light 

The Chief doth therefore rise. 9 



CANTO XXIII. 

[3113] 
nr^HEN saw he 'midst the treasure Hoard 

X An old victorious Eoten Sword, 
Doughty of Edge, the Warriour's Pride, 
All other Weapons it outvied; 
But weightier far than human Hand 
Of other Mortal might command ; 
By giant Forge of old 'twas wrought 
Good, and well fit for War's dread Sport. 
The Scylding Hero in Despair 
Seized by the Hilt that Weapon fair, 

And brandish'd it around, 
And therewithall so angry strake, 
The Bones around her Neck it brake, 
And thro' the Flesh its Way did make ; — 

She sank upon the Ground. 
The Soldier joy'd his Work to see, 
The bloody Sword gleam'd gallantly, 

And round there shone a Light, 
As when serene upon the Sky 

Shines Heaven's Candle 1 bright. 



CANTO XXIII. 61 

Then round the House the Hero sought, 

Along the wall in Fury pass'd, 
His Weapon in his Hand he caught, 

And by the Hilt ygrasped fast ; 
Its Edge was true ; — O ! could his Hate 
Foul Grendel meet, and compensate 
The Ills that he in rude Onslaught 
Against the Danish Youth had wrought, 

In more than one Affray, 
When he of Hrothgar's Vassals true 
Fifteen in peaceful Slumber slew, 
And in their Sleep devoured too, 
And after him as Captives drew, 
(A loathly Deed and foul to do), 

As many more away. 
For this the Chieftain, when he found 
The Monster lifeless on the Ground, 

At rest for ever laid, 
His hatefull Carcase widely rent 
As when, his weary Powers spent, 
From Heorot disgrac'd he went, 

A Vengeance full repaid ; — 
For this he smote the lifeless Foe, 
Swung round his Sword, and, with the Blow, 

Sever'd the Monster's Head. 
Eftsoons those aged Men and grave, 
That watch'd with Hrothgar by the Wave, 
Perceived the Tumult of the Flood 
And the dark crimson Hue of Blood ; 
Then spake the hoary Troop their Pain, 
That they ne'er ween'd to see again 
Their Chief return from out the Main 

Elate with Victory. 
For the sad Signs were all too plain 
That the grim Sea-wolf him had slain 

Beneath the stormy Sea. 
At Noon-day from their cliffy Stand 
Retired the valiant Scylding Band, 



62 BEOWULF. 

And, sick at Heart, the King of Men 
Departed to his Guests again 

And left them by the Meer; 
With Eyes intent upon the Main 
They wish'd but little hop'd again 

To see their Chieftain dear. 
Now, passing marvellous to say, 
The gory Brand to wane away 

In Battle-drops 2 began, 
Like solving Ice, it melted, when 
The Father looseth Winter's Chain, 
The true Creator, who doth reign 
O'er Times and Seasons, doth again 
Unwind the Wave-ropes 3 that the Main 

Confine within their Span. 
The Chieftain of the Geats, tho' there 
Were many Treasures rich and fair, 
From out the salvage Monster's Hoarde 

Nought save the Helmet bare away 
And Pommel of the mighty Sword 

Bedecked with Gems and Treasures gay : 
The Blade, of twisted Iron good, 

Already had liquified ; 
So hot the poisonous Demon's Blood 4 

That 'neath its Edge had died. 
The Chief, the War-fall 5 of his Foes, 
Now soon upon the Waters rose ; 
All purified the blending Wave, 

'Neath whose wide-cavern'd Space 
Her Life the salvage Demon gave 

That Creature foul and base. 
Then swimming strong, his Prize in Hand, 
The Seamen's Chieftain comes to Land, 
Abundantly rejoicing o'er 
The mighty Burthen that he bore. 
Quick ran the Thanes the Youth to meet, 
And joyously the Hero greet, 
Thankful to God that they him found 



CANTO XXIII. 63 

From Strife returning- safe and sound, 
And haste to give the weary Chief 
From Helm and pondrous Mail Relief; 
While soon beneath the Welkin's Sphere 
Subsides the murther-stained Meer. 
Then forth the kingly Heroes went, 
Full light of Cheer their Steps they bent 

Along the well known Way, 
And from the Cliffs that guard the Shore 
With Pain the pondrous Mail-hood 6 bore 

A Trophy of the Day, 
While raised upon a Halbert, four 
Fell Grendel's Head with Labour sore 

Unto the Hall convey. 
Thus to the Hall the Chieftain hied, 
Fourteen brave Weders at his Side, 
And 'mongst them full of Joy and Pride 
He trod the Mead-plains' Way. 
The Beast of War, the Prince of Thanes, 
The Hero of renowned Plains, 
Soon came within the Palace where, 
The Scylding Chief he greeted fair, 
While o'er the Mead-hall Floor they bare 
Where Men caroused free from Care 
The Head of Grendel by the Hair, 

A Sight of Fear and Dread 
To each bold Rev'ller there to view, 
And therewithall they also drew 

The Mother-demon's Head ; 
A Visage strange and monstrous too 

Men there contemplated. 



64 BEOWULF. 



CANTO XXIV. 



^"pHEN spake the Son of Ecgtheow ; [3300] 
X " Healfdene's bold Son, the Scyldings' King, 
A Token of Rejoicing now 

This Trophy of the Seas we bring. 
I scarce with Life beneath the Sea 
Achieved that Deed of Chivalry, 
Yet did I dare the arduous Fight, 
And made avail the Cause of Right, 

For God my Shield has been, 
Yet not with Edge of Hrunting bright 
Prevail I in the Battle might, 

Tho' good that Weapon keen. 
But Mankind's Ruler granted me 
Hanging upon the Wall to see 

A vast and ancient Brand ; 
(Full oft when desperate, hath He 

Lent me a guiding Hand,) 
And with that goodly Weapon I 
Have gain'd a happy Victory, 
And slain, as Time Occasion gave 1 
The Keepers of the deadly Cave. 
Then quick the twisted Blade up brent, 
So hot the Blood upon it sprent ; 
But from my slaughter'd Foes I've rent 

This Hilt and bring to you 
Their Crimes have met their Punishment, 
The Death-plague of the Danes is shent, 

As was both just and due. 
And now thou mayest, I promise thee, 

Sleep scatheless in thy goodly Flail, 
With all thy Heroes' Company, 

With young and old thy People all ; 
Nor need'st thou fear, as hitherto, 
O ! Chieftain of the Scyldings true, 



CANTO XXIV. 65 

That from that Quarter deadly Pest 
Again will break thy Warriours' Rest." 
Then in the hoary Warriour's Hand 
Was plac'd that Hilt of antient Brand, 
Erewhile by Giants fashioned ; 
The Fiends who held it being dead, 
This Work by Wonder-smiths 2 y-cast 
Unto the Danish Chieftain pass'd ; — 
When the grim-hearted Murther-fiend 
And his foul Dam their life resign'd, 
It came at length to be possess'd 
By him, of this World's Kings the best, 
Who liberal of his Wealth did reign 
In Sceden-ig twixt Oceans twain. 
The aged Warriour bent his Eye 
Upon that Work of Times gone by, 
Whereon of old were storied 
The Sources of that Contest dread, 
When the deep Ocean's whelming Flood 
Swept from the Earth the giant Brood. 3 
Boldly they warr'd — that salvage Horde 
Of Aliens from th' eternal Lord, 
Who e'en repaid the Vengeance due, 
And in the whelming Waters slew. 
'Twas also on the Surface 4 told, 
Well chas'd upon the virgin Gold, 

In Runic Letters taught, 
For whom this goodly Sword, array'd 
With wreathed Hilt and waving Blade, 

Had thus at first been wrought. 
Then thus the Son of Healfdene spake, 
While none around the Silence brake, 
" Now may the Chief of many Years, 
Who Truth and Right administers, 
And well remembers Days gone by, 
His Country's Guardian, testify, 
That this good Earl was born to be 5 
The Flower of Worth and Chivalry. 



66 BEOWULF. 

Thy Glory high, my noble Friend, 
Doth now thro' every Land extend ; 
In Wisdom grave and patient Might 
Thou bearest all thy Fame aright, 
And now shall well performed be 
The Promise that I plighted thee, 
And long propitious shalt thou reign, 
The Solace of thy People's Pain, 
Thy Warriours' Aid in Battles' Plain : 
Full other to Ecgwela's Kin 6 

Fierce Heremod became, 
Not as 'twas wish'd that he had been 

An Honour to the Scyldings' Name : 
But on the Danes he sorely press'd, 
A slaughtering Plague, a Murther-pest, 
The ruthless Chief in salvage Mood, 
Shed e'en his Household Comrades' Blood, 
Until from human Joys at last 
Alone and friendless forth he pass'd, 
Though him had God all good and great 

With Power's Blessings grac'd, 
And by Achieves of arduous Weight 

On high 'mid Mortals plac'd, 
Yet grew there still his Breast within 
A savage Soul of Blood and Sin ; 
Nor did he Pangs unto the Dane 

In royal Bounty give, 
But, while grim Battle rag'd amain, 
His People's weary Curse and Bane, 

Unmov'd and joyless live. 
From him do thou a Warning take ; — 
This Song of thee in Age I make ; — 7 
'Tis passing wondrous to record, 
How mighty God in Counsel broad 8 
Doth to the Sons of Men assign 
Lordship, or Land, or Thought divine : 
Awhile he letteth wander free 

A high-born Man's ambitious Powers, 



CANTO XXIV. 67 

And grants him Earth's best Ga'ity, 

And eke to hold Men's Refuge-towers, 
And under his extensive Sway 

Doth so the World's wide Regions bend, 
That ne'er in listlessness he may 

Bethink him of his latter End. 
His Feasts he lengthens, nor his Joy 
Doth Age or Sickness e'er alloy ; 
No Sorrow o'er his Spirit throws 

Sudden its darkling Curse, 
Nor Enmity its Malice shews, 
The World e'en as he wills it goes, — 

He knoweth not the worse, — 



CANTO XXV. 

" r I ^ILL Pride within the Heart assumes [3477] 

JL A Place, and waxeth there and blooms, 
When Wisdom, who her ward should keep 
Around the Soul, is drown'd in Sleep, 
Sleep bound too fast in Labours drear, 
When the Destroyer's Hand is near, 
Whose fiery -Bow, with bitter Dart, 
Smites 'neath his Helm and wounds his Heart ; 
Nor can the wonder-working Charm 
Of cursed Fiend avert the Harm. 
But all too little deeming his 

Already too long hoarded Store, 
Grim-soul'd and greedy, practises 

To gain for ever more and more ; 
Nor does his Pride distribute free 
The Rings of solid Jewell'ry, 
And, for that God, who Glory gives, 

Hath mighty Worship granted him, 
Forgetful and neglectful lives 

Of Death, that salvage Fiend and grim. 
Then oft at last the Body ails, 



68 BEOWULF. 

And wasted sinks, and dying fails, 

Another then succeeds, 
And all unmourning deals abroad 
His Predecessor's ancient Hoard, 

Nor Fear's Remonstrance heeds. 
O ! dear Beowulf keep from thee 
That baleful Sin, Cupidity ; 
Great Chief, thy Choice in Wisdom make, 
And everlasting Counsel take : 
Care not for Pride : — tho' now thy Might 

Awhile in Glory blows, 
Sickness or Sword in fell Despite, 

Eftsoons thy Toils must close, 
Devouring Flame, or Dagger's smart, 
Or whelming Flood, or flying Dart, 
Or Age of Aspect foul to see, 1 

Or the false Glance of Treachery > 
Shall darken and beleaguer thee : J 
Death in an unexpected Hour, 
Great Warriour, shall thy Might o'er-power. 
Thus had I rul'd 'neath Heav'ns broad Space 
For many Years the Hring-Dane Race, 
And, by my Wars with Sword and Spear, 
Caus'd them no Tribe on Earth to fear, 
That 'neath the Sun's broad Circuit I 
Reck'd not of any Enemy : 
So therefore on my Heritage 
Reverses came and Fortune's Rage, 
To Joy succeeded bitter Woe, 
When Grendel came, the ancient Foe, 

My Country to invade ; 
And for this Visitation's Bane 
Full sore Distress and harrowing Pain 

Upon my Spirit prey'd. 
Then Thanks to the Eternal Lord 

That I have liv'd to see 
The Head with Battle-drops begor'd 

Of my old Enemy. 



CANTO XXV. 69 

Now therefore to thy Seat depart, 
And Feast thee with a joyful Heart, 

High dignified in War, 
And Wealth a Store full rich and vast 
Shall to our common Hoard be cast 

When Morn shall o'er us draw." 
In gladsome Mood the valiant Geat 
Right soon resum'd his Banquet- seat, 
E'en as the wise Chief bade, and then 
Around was quickly heard again 
Among the Palace-guests renown'd 
The Voice of Friendship's gentle Sound. 
The Night-helm o'er them dusky grows ;— 
The goodly Company arose, 
The grey-hair'd Chief, with Labour tired, 
To seek his Couch's Rest desired. 
The Geat his Wish for him express'd 
Of measurelessly happy Rest, 1 
And soon the Thane whose busy Care 
Provided all things fit and fair, 
That serve a gallant Sailor's Needs, 
Forth from the Hall respectful leads 
The far-come Angle Chief away 
Tir'd with the Labours of the Day. 
'Neath high-arch'd Roof adorn'd with Gold 

The noble Chief doth slumbering lie, 
Until the palid Raven told 
In boding Cry both blithe and bold 

That Heaven's pride the Sun was high 
The salvage Warriours haste amain, 
The Chieftains seek their Bands again : 
The Geatic Chief of daring 2 Mind 
Would far away his Vessel bind. 
Then Ecglaf's Son the Hero bade 
Hrunting receive, his lovely 3 Blade ; 
He thanked him for the Loan, quoth he, 
His Warrionr-friend he took to be 
Well skill' d in War and valiant too : 



70 BEOWULF. 

And, as a generous Thane would do, 
He spake not one complaining Word 
Against the Temper of the Sword. 
When ready arm'd for journeying 
The Warriours were, the iEtheliiig 
Unto the worthy Danes retreats, 

Where royal Hrothgar sate, 
And thus the noble War-beast 4 greets 

The Danish Monarch great. 



CANTO XXVI. 



BEOWULF spake : " At length would we, 
The far-come Wanderers of the Sea, 
Propose to make our Voyage back, 
And seek our Lord, great Higelac. 
Well hast thou Hostship's Laws observ'd, 
E'en as we would have we been serv'd ; 
And if while yet on Earth I may, 
Great Lord of Men, in any way, 
By Deeds of War thy sovereign Will, 
More than as yet I have, fulfill, 
And should I hear across the Sea 
That Neighbours threat and harass thee, 
As whilome have thy Haters dar'd, 
Then quickly will I be prepar'd, 
And bring of Thanes in Arms array 'd 
A thousand Heroes to thine Aid. 
Well wot I, Higelac, whose Sway 
The Geatic Clansmen all obey, 
Tho' young his People's Shepherd be, 
In Word and Deed will furnish me, 
That well I may thine Honour fair 
Maintain, and to thy Succour bear 
My Lance the Sceptre of my Might, 
When Men thou needest for the Fight. 
And Hrethrinc, if his Steps he e'er 



CANTO XXVI. 71 

To Geatic Halls should bend, 
The royal Youth may meet with there 

Right many a trusty Friend. 
He who of Valour is possess'd 
May visit distant Strangers best." 
Thus did the Scylding Prince reply ; 

" The all-wise Lord appears 
Thy Words to give, for ne'er did I 
Hear Man advise more prudently 

At thy yet early Years. 
Strong is thy Arm, mature thy Mind, 
Thy Words in Wisdom are design'd, 

And should it ever be, 
That the dread Lance, or bloody Fight, 
Or Sickness, or the Faulchion bright 
Should Hrethel's Son, that princely Wight, 
His People's Shepherd reave of Light, 

And Death have yet spar'd thee, 
I deem the Sea-Geats ne'er will have 
A King to choose more good and brave, 

Their Treasure's-Lord to be : 
If thou would'st e'en consent to hold 
The Kingdom of thy Kinsman bold. 
For still the more I see of thee, 
The more, dear Youth, thou pleasest me : 
For thou hast caused twixt Geat and Dane 
That W T ar shall rest and Peace shall reign, 
The Enmity that erst they bore 
Shall now disturb their Rest no more, 
While I my wide Command shall bear, 
Our Treasures we in common share. 
Our ring'd Ships oft shall bend their Path 
For Greeting o'er the Ganet's Bath, 1 
From one to other Land o'er Sea 
To carry Signs of Amity. 
I know my People, that with Foe 
Or Friend to break they never know ; 
And in all other Things their Ways 



72 BEOWULF. 

Are spotless, as in ancient Days." 
The Prince of Earls yet furthermore, 

The Kinsmen of Healfdene, 
Twelve Treasures on his Guest did pour, 
Then bade them speed them on their Way, 
In Peace their Friends a Visit pay 

And quick return again. 
The Scylding Chief, the Monarch high, 
Good in his fair Nobility, 

Then kiss'd the worthy Thane, 
His Neck in Warmth he did embrace, 
While on the grey-hair'd Hero's Face 

The Tears of Grief are seen. 
Aught was more likely than, (since he 

Was now infirm and old,) 
That they should more each other see, 

And Conferences hold. 
So well he lov'd the gentle Thane 
That he in no wise might restrain 

The tender Bosom-flood; 2 
But long'd in secret for his Guest 
Fast in his Spirits-bonds 3 possess'd 

Who warr'd with Men of Blood. 4 
Beowulf thence with Gold full proud, 

Glad with his Treasure-Hoard, 
Along the grassy Meadows trod 
To where his Sea-bound Ship abode, 
And safely still at Anchor rode, 

As waiting for her Lord. 
And, as along their Course they fly, 
Great Hrothgar's Liberality 

With Praises oft go o'er ; 
A King was he of blameless Reign, 
Till lengthen' d Age had from him ta'en 
The Joys of Power, to many a Thane 

As it hath done before. 



73 



CANTO XXVII. 

THEN came there to the ocean Shore [3772] 
Full many a valiant Bachelour, 
And ev'ry Hero onward pac'd 
In chain-lock'd iron Limb-sark 1 cas'd; 
The Earls' Return the Land-ward spied, 

As oft he had before, 
And from the Ness's Ridges wide 
With no uncourteous Greeting plied, 
But forth to meet the Guests did ride, 
And bade them welcome o'er the Tide, 

Unto the Geatic Shore. 
"Then on the Heroes bent their Way 
To where the sea-arch'd 2 Vessel lay, 

The ring'd Prow on the Strand, 
With goodly Weeds- of-war on Board, 
W 7 ith Horses and a Treasure-hoard, 
Her lofty Mast in Glory soar'd 

O'er Hrothgar's Bounty grand, 
Who to the Vessel's sturdy Lord 
Had giv'n a rich-gold-bounden Sword, 

That ever after then, 
At the gay Mead-bench when he sat, 
A noble Relic such as that 

Might Worship for him gain. 
Then homeward in his Vessel he 
Urg'd the deep Billows of the Sea, 

And left the Danish Land, 
While the Sea-curtain, 3 round the Mast, 
The Sail so gaily floated, fast 

Upon its corded Band, 
The thundering Sea-wood 4 onward goes, 
Nor do the Winds its Course oppose ; 
Onward the swift Sea-trv'ller goes 

With foamy Neck and bounden Prow, 



74 BEOWULF. 

Until the Cliffs in view arose 
The Nesses Geat-land that inclose 

May well be recognized now, 
Urg'd by the Wind the Vessel good 
Sprang forward, and on Land it stood. 
Then quickly to the Shore drew near 
The Hythe-ward, his Companions dear 
Who long had watch'd, and on the Strand 
Awaited the returning Band. 
Then firmly by the Cable true 
The Vessel on the Sand he drew, 
Lest Might of Wave, with raging Flood 
Might chance to wreck the winsome Wood, 5 
Then bade of th' iEthelings up-bear 
The solid Gold and Trappings fair. 
Nor need their Way far distant wind, 
Their Treasure-giving Prince to find, 
For Hrethel's royal Progeny 

Dwelt with his Hero court, 
Full nigh the Cliffs that wall the Sea, 
A princely noble King was he, 

And goodly was the Fort. 
The youthful Hygd in lofty Hall 

Wise and high dignified 
Remain'd, tho' Winters few in all, 
Within her City's Battl'd Wall, 

As yet had o'er her hied. 
And she was Haereth's haughty Child, 
No gentle Dame of Bearing mild, 
Nor one that Gifts too freely pour'd 
From out the Treasure's ample Hoard, 
Th' fierce Queen her salvage Soul within 
Indulg'd her Rage in awful Sin ; 
Not one of all the Heroes there 
That Monster to approach would dare, 6 
And e'en her Lord she scarce would brook 
Once in the Day on her to look, 
But wreathed Bonds of Death did she 



CANTO XXVII. 75 

Devise and to her Lord decree. 
Scarce had she pledg'd to him her Hand, 
Than with the Dagger's Edge she plann'd 
Full short to cut his destin'd Day, 
And Death's dread Message to convey ; 
Unqueenlike deek, unseemly too 
For Dame however fair to do, 
That she who 's wont to settle Strife 

And Peace's Web to weave, 
Should seek a gentle Thane of Life 

In Fury to bereave. 
For this great Hemming's Kinsman's Breast 
Disgust in sooth full sore possess'd. 
Yet many drinking Ale would say 

Her Deeds were less by Malice driven, 
Sith first she was in Gold-array 

Unto the youthful Warriour given. 
But after, by her Father taught, 

Across the fallow-Flood 7 she hied, 
And Offa's Halls in Journey sought, 

And there the Throne she occupied, 
Where high in Glory unalloy'd, 
She Life's-creations 8 well injoyed, 
And with a Prince held Love's Embrace 
Of all the Men of human Race, 
Of Heroes, as I ascertain, 9 
The best betwixt the Oceans twain : 
For far rever'd was Offa's Name 
For War and Bounty high in Fame. 
Serene in Wisdom did he hold 

His goodly Heritage, 
And from his Lineage was told 
That sorrowing Help of Heroes bold 

Mighty in Battle's Rage, 
The royal Garmund's Nephew good, 
Kinsman of Hemming's noble Blood. 



76 



CANTO XXVIII. 

[3921] 

FORTH march'd the Chieftain and his band, 
The Sea-plain wide, 1 the Ocean's Sand 
He trod, while Gem-like shone on high 
The World's-lamp 2 in the southern Sky. 
Onward they press'd their March amain, 

Till they the youthful Warriour King, 
The Chief who Ongentheow had slain, 
The Earl's Protector, ascertain, 
Within his fortified Domain 

Was jewel'd Rings distributing. 
Now soon to royal Higelac 
Was known Beowulf's Journey back, 

That o'er the Way he came 
Unto his Court, the Warriours' Shield, 
His dear Companion in the Field, 

Safe from the Battle's Game. 
In Hall then, as the Chieftain bade, 
Room for the Guests was quickly made : 
Upon the Seat his own that fac'd, 

From Conflict's Terrours sav'd, 
Kinsman in Front of Kinsman plac'd, 

Sat he who War had brav'd. 
And Haareth's beauteous Daughter, when 
With lofty Speech the King of Men 
His faithful Thane had greeted fair, 
With noble Words and brave to hear, 
Beneath the Hall-roofs wide Extent, 
Forth with the flowing Mead-skink went. 
The People to her Heart were dear 

That own'd her Lord's Command, 
And she the brimming Cup would bear 

To each proud Warriour's Hand. 
Now e'er the Hall they can forsake 

Young Higelac is led 



CANTO XX VIII. 77 

Inquiry of his Friend to make, 
(His Curiosity out-brake) 

Of how the Geats had sped. 
" I pray you, dear Beowulf, say 
How it befell you by the Way, 
When suddenly thou didst decide 
To cross the Ocean's foaming Tide, 
And seek beyond the briny Main 
The War that rag'd on Heorot's Plain ? 
Didst thou to noble Hrothgar 'vail 
To rid him of his well-known Bale ? 
My Soul, with bitter Anguish fraught, 

In Sorrow seeth'd 3 for thee 
Of my lov'd Thane's Attempt, I thought, 

Full little Good would be. 
And pray'd thee not to dare in Fight 
The Murther-demon's 4 salvage Might, 
But for himself to let the Dane 
In War with Grendel Worship gain. 
But Thanks to God, that now I see 
Thee safe and sound return to me." 
Beowulf, Ecgtheow's great Son, 
Replies : " My Liege, to many a one 
'Tis known what Sort of Eventide 
Grendel and I together plied 

Upon that fatal Plain, 
Where to the valiant Scyldings he 
Had often wrought sore Misery, 

And to their Chieftain Pain. 
That I aveng'd, nor shall be found 

One of his cursed Host, 
In all the World's wide Regions round, 
Unto the last that there is found 
'Mid dismal Fens his Den that bound 

Of that Night's Fray to boast. 
Then forth unto the high Ring-hall 
I went, the King to greet withal : 
Heafdene's great Son full soon did see 



78 BEOWULF. 

My Mind, and order'd straight for me 

Beside his Son a Seat ; 
The Troop was joyous, ne'er did I 
Beneath the Vault of Heav'n on high 
Throughout my Life more Revelry 

Among Carousers meet. 
Awhile the noble Queen would move, 
The Gage of Nations' Peace and Love, 
Around the spacious Hall, address 
Her youthful Sons with Tenderness, 
And e'er she sate her down, oft bring 
To Warriour's Hand the gold-wreath' d Ring, 
Awhile great Hrothgar's Daughter fair, 

Whom Freaware the Guests did call, 
The foaming Cup of Ale would bear 

To the bold Earls throughout the Hall. 
And often to the Heroes brave 
The red Gold gleed-like Treasure gave. 
And she, in Youth and Gold bedight, 
To Froda's happy Son is plight ; 
Thus hath the Scylding Chief serene 
Full well his People's Shepherd been, 

For by that gentle Maid. 
He hath, (for so the Tale is told), 
Full many a murtherous Feud and old 

At Peace for ever laid. 
But well-a-day, 'tis sorely rare 
Tho' noble be the Bride and fair, 
The Death-lance, when a People fall, 
Long rests 5 in Peace upon the Wall. 
Well may the Heatho-beardan Chief 
And ev'ry Thane feel Wrath and Grief, 
When Hope of Heroes, 6 with his Bride, 
The young Dane through their Hall shall stride, 
And glorying in the Relic, bear 
The temper 'd ring-mail Weapon fair, 
The Heathobeardan's Treasure good 

While they their Arms might wield, 



79 



CANTO XXIX. 1 

UNTIL they lost in deadly Feud [4073] 

Their Comrades dear and their own Blood 

Upon the Shield-play-field. 
Then while they sit the Banquet o'er 
Some aged grim soul'd Warriour, 
The Ring who sees and fully all 
The Battle-pest to Mind can call, 
Will 'gin with deep and deadly Art 

In Words like these to ascertain 
The youthful Champion's Mind and Heart, 

And War's dread Bale to wake again. 
' Know'st thou, my Friend, that goodly Sear, 
That in the Fight thy Father bare 

In crested War-array, 
When last he wielded th' Iron dear, 2 

And him the Danes did slay ? 
And since the Fall of Withergyld, 
'Tis wielded by the Sons of Scyld. 
And now behold the haughty Son 

Of some one of his murtherous Foes, 
Exulting in the Booty won 

Here through our Palace proudly goes. 
He boasts the Deed and dares to wear 
The Treasure thou of right should'st bear.' 
With Words of Malice thus he still 
Reminds the Youth and spurs to ill 

Till the dark Hour arise, 
When the Queen's Thane 3 in Sleep of Death, 
Besmear'd with Blood, deprived of Breath, 

Beneath the Bill's-Bite 4 lies. 
The other Chief full soon is gone, 
For well to him the Land is known, 
The Oaths of Earls on either Side 
Now broken are and nullified, 



80 BEOWULF. 

And Ingeld's Spirit bold 
With Thoughts of Slaughterous-vengeance rife, 
The Love that erst he bare his Wife 
: Mid whelming Care's unhallowed Strife 

Now waxeth chilly cold. 
Thus Heathobeardan Amity 

Full lowly I esteem 
Nor will their kingly Quiet be 
Firm Peace devoid of Treachery 

Unto the Danes I deem. 
But now must I return, and shew 

The Deeds that I 'gainst Grendel wrought, 
That thou, O ! Treasure-lord, may'st know 

The Fate of Heroes' dire Onslaught. 
Heaven's Gem had glided to her Rest 

Beneath the Ocean deep, 
When the foul Demon wrath-possess' d 
Sought us, the loathsome Even-pest, 

As we our W r atch did keep ; 
And his fell Gauntlet 5 sway'd its Swoop, 
A Life-bale to the fated Troop. 
The girded Hero next that lay 
From Grendel' s Teeth in that dread Fray 

Met the sad Fate of War ; 
Soon the voracious Monster drew 
The lovely Youth's whole Body through 

His darksome hollow Maw. 
Not still the Blood-tooth'd 6 Wretch withall 
Would empty handed leave the Hall. 
Proud of his Might he me essay 'd 
His ready Palm upon me laid, 
While huge and strange upon his Hand 
His Gauntlet hung from mystic Band, 
With dark Devices overwrought 
On Dragon's Hide, by Devils' Art, 
And me therewith he would have slain 
Guiltless and free from Evil's Stain, 
The evil Beast on Evil bent, 7 



CANTO XXIX. 

As many he before had shent 

Yet this to do o'erpass'd his Might, 

When in my Wrath I stood upright, 



CANTO XXX. 

" ^T^OO long it were the Tale to spell, [4181] 
J^ How I this Nation's-curse so fell 

For all his Ills repay'd, 
And how thy People's Name full well 

I worshipful have made : 
He fled from the unequal Strife, 
And thus awhile preserv'd his Life : 
But yet did his right Hand remain 
On Heorot's insanguin'd Plain, 
Whence downcast and dispirited 
Beneath the Meer's dark Depths he fled, 
The Scylding Chief my Labours bold 
Rewarded well with solid Gold, 
And Treasure, when 'neath Morning's Ray 
We sat at Banquet Table gay. 
And there was Mirth and Song and Glee : 

And th' aged Scylding Monarch bold, 
(A deeply-searching Man is he) 

Related Tales of Days of old. 
And whilome would the Warriour gay 
Pour forth the Harp's enlivening Lay, 

And greet the joyous Wood, 1 
Awhile select a mournful Muse, 
Awhile a Tale of Wonder choose, 

After the Banquet good. 
At times the high-soul'd Monarch old, 

Bound in the Chains of Age, 
Harang'd the youthful Heroes bold, 

The Strength of Battle-rage. 
His Bosom's boiling Flood would rise, 
As, with right many Winters wise, 



82 BEOWULF. 

He told the Deeds of Yore : 
E'en thus the livelong Day was pass'd 
In Mirthfulness, until at last 

The second Night drew o'er, 
And Grendel's Dam, soon ready, cast 

To wreak a Vengeance sore : 
For ill her sorrow brook'd, that Death 
And Weder Hate her Son of Breath 
Had e'en depriv'd : — she ruthless went, 
And in her Rage a Hero shent, 

For him in vengeful Hate, 
And thus the aged Chief iEschere, 
Renown'd for Wisdom far and near, 

Departed to his Fate. 
Nor could they bear, the Danish Band, 

At the Return of Day, 
The death-spent 2 Form to flaming Brand, 
Nor on the Pyre with friendly Hand 

Their lov'd Champion lay. 
His Corse the fiendish Mother-hag 
Beneath the Mountain-stream did drag. 
This was to princely Hrothgar's Heart 
Of all his Griefs the keenest Smart. 
Then by thy Life he pray'd of me 
Beneath the Tumult of the Sea 

My Prowess to essay, 
In Glory's Work to risk my Fall, 
And promis'd high Reward withall, 

If e'er I came away. 
Then, as 'tis known, beneath the Wave, 
The Keepers of the Ocean-cave 
I found, right grim and dread in Might, 
And hard awhile twixt us the Fight. 
The Flood it boil'd with Poison's Strength, 
But with the Sabre's Edge at length, 
Down in the Ocean's lowest Stead, 
I shear'd 3 the Monster of her Flead, 
And thence her salvage Spirit fled ; 



CANTO XXX. 83 

Death was not yet my Fate : 
But the good Earls' illustrious Lord, 
Healfdene's great Kinsman, high Reward 

Gave me and Treasure great. 

CANTO XXXI. 

THUS liv'd the Monarch, nor did I [4283] 
Lose the fair Meed of Chivalry, 
For Healfdene's Son did give to me 

My Heart's Content of Treasures rare, 
Which I, O ! Warriours' King, to thee 

To bring will willingly prepare ; 
And Higelac, to thee is due 

My Heart's Affection all, 
For now, except thyself, but few 

My Kinsmen can I call." 
Then in he bade the Menials bear 
The lofty War-helm crested fair 
With Boar-device, the Hawberk grey, 
The ready Sword, and thus did say : 
" This Robe of War the Prince sedate, 

Great Hrothgar gave to me, 
And bade me first expatiate 

Concerning it to thee. 
Heorogar the Scyldings' Lord 

The Relic long possess'd, 
Yet ne'er to bold Heoroweard 
His well-loved Son would he accord 

That goodly Bosom-vest : — 
Do thou enjoy these pretious W T eeds." 
Forthwith four apple-fallow 1 Steeds, 
Alike in beauty, as I'm told, 
Followed his Step ; — both Steeds and Gold 
An Offering to his Monarch due ; — 
Thus nobly should a Kinsman do, 
Nor for his Hand-work's-mate 2 prepare 
With secret Craft the deadly Snare. 



84 BEOWULF. 

To Higelac in Vengeance bold 

His Nephew's Heart did firmly hold, 

Each was to other kind. 
The rich-chased Wonder Treasure 3 too, 
The Collar fair, that Waltheow, 
Daughter of Princes, did bestow 

He unto Hygd resign'd : 
And therewithal! three Steeds of slight 
And graceful Form, with Saddle bright, 
And Breast with Ring-work fair bedight, 

This may be considered as the Conclusion of the 
first Portion of the Poem, as the Author, without 
even beginning a new Canto, or giving any other 
Notice to his Reader, passes immediately to the 
Events of his Hero's last Conflict and Death. 

E'en thus did Ecgtheow's Offspring bold 
Famous in Deeds of Worth grow old, 
He ever rul'd with Judgment right, 
Nor drunken would his Comrades smite, 

His Heart joyed not in Blood: 
Still held the noble Beast-of-fight 4 
Of all Mankind the greatest Might, 

That Gift that God bestow'd. 
And long a Pity it should seem 
The Geats did not his Worth esteem, 
Nor, though so worthy of their Praise, 
Would to the royal Mead- seat raise 

As Chieftain of their Band ; 
Full oft they said that he was slack, 
A Prince who Spirit high did lack, 
Until Reverses' dire Attack, 
With Wrath of all kinds came to rack 

The glory'd of their Land. 5 
'Twas then the War-ennobl'd King. 6 
The Earls' Protector call'd to bring 

Great Hrethel's Relic fair, 
For 'mongst the Geatic Treasure-hoard 



CANTO XXXI. 85 

No Relic than that goodly Sword 

More glorious was there. 
The Chieftain of the Geatic Race 
This on Beowulf s Breast did place, 

And gave into his Hand 
A royal Castle, kingly Throne 
And seven thousand Vills 7 to own 

His Lordship and Command. 
Both Chiefs indeed had natal Right 

Unto the Suit of Man, 
But in the Prince of lesser Might, 
In what concern'd the landed Right, 

The Line of Heirship ran. 
In after Days, that pass'd away, 
When Higelac all lifeless lay, 
On Heared when the Battle Sword 
Bale 'neath the Shield Defences pour'd, 
And him the Warriour-Scylfings sought 
With victor Troops, with Fury fraught, 
And Hereric's bold Nephew fam'd 
Of all his hostile Malice tam'd. 8 
Then the wide Kingdom's high Command 
Devolv'd upon Beowulf's Hand, 
And fifty Years the Monarch sage 
Preserv'd full well his Heritage, 
Till one began, a Dragon stark 
To tyrannize in Midnight dark, 
And Treasure watchfully to keep 9 
Disposed into a secret Heap 
Beneath a frowning Mound of Stone, 
Its nether Paths to Men unknown. 
Some daring Wight, I wot not who, 
Entered, 10 * [and stealthily withdrew,] 
But took from out the heathen Lair 
[A golden Vase] in Colours fair, 
But soon the sinful Monster [found 
That, while in scaly Circles wound 

He'd closed his] sleeping [Eyes, 



86 BEOWULF. 

His Treasure-hoard had rifled been] 
By thievish Craft, [and then 'twas seen 
How dread] his Wrath did rise. 



CANTO XXXII. 

TWAS not in Violence and Pride [4438] 

Nor by a way-ward Will impell'd 
The wandering Exile had defied 
The Might the Dragon's Hoard that held, 
A valiant Thane oppress'd by Fate, 
What Hero's Son I may not say, 
Who fled the vengeful Blow of Hate, 
But, urg'd by Need's resistless Sway, 
An unoffending Man he went 
Within th' Enclosure's dark Extent, 1 
[The Mound] the Stranger [dread possess'd.] 
Terror arose [within his Breast.] 
However the unhappy Man 

2 

Obtain'd [the golden] Vessel [gay,] 

The Treasure Vase, [and fled away.]* 

Within the Cave were many more 

Old Treasures, as, in Days of yore, 

I know not who of human Kin 

Hid the dear Wealth 3 the Mound within, 

Expecting Thankfulness and Grace, 

Vast Legacy of a noble Race, 

All whom dark Death in Ages past 

Had swept away, till he at last 

The People's Chief was likewise ta'en 

Who longest did on Earth remain. 

For mourning and bereav'd the Chief 

Sought not to reach a lengthen'd Age, 
He could not long, 'twas his Belief, 

Enjoy his precious Heritage. 
The Mound was ready on the Plain 



CANTO XXXII. 87 

Beside the Billows of the Main, 
Headlong- above the Cliff it frown'd 
Fast by the Art of Craftsmen bound; 
The Lord of Rings then hither bore 

And here deposited 
His Wealth of many an Earl the Store, 
And solid Gold Fire-harden'd o'er : 

And thus he briefly said : 
" Hold thou, O ! Earth, this princely Store, 
Now Heroes may it hold no more ; 
Lo ! it from thee good Men and true 
Erewhile laboriously drew, 
Whom now a cruel Death hath ta'en, 
A Life-bale savagely 4 hath slain. 

My People one and all, 
Who from this Life for aye have past 
And seen of festal Joys their last 

Within the Banquet Hall. 
Not one remains to swing- the Sword, 
Or Cup receive at festive Board, 
The drinking Vessel rich and grand — 
Death-sick are all my noble Band. 5 
The Warriour-helm with Gold array'd 
Shall now beside the Cup be laid 
For they now slumber all forlorn 
Who should the Warriour-helm adorn ; 
The Hawberk, that in Battle-fields, 
Amid the thundering Crash of Shields, 
Withstood in many a raging Fight 
The pondrous Iron's loathly Bite, 

To moulder shall be laid, 
After the Warriour that it bore, 
And the ring'd Byrnie shall no more 

Go forth, the Hero's Aid. 
No Harp's gay Voice is heard around, 
Nor Glee-wood 6 echoing Music's Sound, 
No good Hawk swingeth from his String, 7 
Nor tramping Horse swift traversing 



88 BEOWULF. 

The City's Barrier-pale : 
For all my living- Race is shent, 
The Host of kindred Souls forth sent 

By the Death-dealing Bale." 8 
Thus sad of Mind the Chief of old 

By Day and Night his Mourning kept, 
Who, reft of all his Kinsmen bold, 

Forlorn and solitary wept, 
Till the Death-flood's relentless Strength 
Reach'd his distracted Heart at length. 
The joyous Hoard 9 was open found 

By the old twilight Pest, 10 
Who burning seeks each Barrow's Mound, 
Fell Dragon fire-encompass'd round, 

His Night-flight as he press'd. 
The dwellers of the Land of old 

Him [fearfully observ'd] 11 
Where, wise with many Winters told 
He the vast Hoard of Heathen Gold 

Useless to him 12 preserved. 
Three-hundred Years the mighty Pest 
In the Earth's Bosom there possess'd, 
Now great and mighty grown withall, 
A certain 13 spacious Treasure-hall, 

Till one his Anger nerv'd : 
For to his own liege Lord he brought 

The solid Cup of golden Ware, 
And Covenant of Pardon sought; 

His Lord the wretched Exile's Prayer 
Granted, when marv'lling he beheld 
The wondrous Work of Men of Eld. 
Soon as the Dragon was awake 
His furious Wrath anew out-brake, 
Around the Rock the Scent he plied, 14 
And soon the Stranger's Steps descried, 
Who forth by secret Art had fled, 
Passing beside the Monster's Head. 
Thus then mav one not doom'd to die 



CANTO XXXII. 89 

Scape Woe and Danger easily 

If he God's Grace obtain, 
Around the Land the Hoard-ward swept 
To find the Man who, while he slept, 

Had wrought him grievous Bane. 
With raging Mind and fierce Intent, 
Around about his Heaps he went, 
The outward Space examin'd round, 
And no Man in the Desert found, 
But, loving War and Hours of Fight, 
Betook him to the Barrow's Height 

His Wealth-cup to explore, 
But found that some one of Mankind 
His hidden Gold had chanc'd to find, 

His lofty Treasure Store. 15 
Scarce would the Keeper of the Hoard 

Await till Even came, 
High the Mound-watcher's 16 Anger soar'd, 
His precious Vessel's Loss he scor'd 

To pay with raging Flame. 
When Day, as he desired, 17 was gone, 
Not long he stay'd the Mound upon, 
But, furnish'd with a Breath of Fire, 
He wended forth in flaming Ire. 
Full dread at first the Onslaught bore 

Upon the People brave, 
Even as ere the War was o'er 
Upon their Prince it ended sore 

W 7 ho Treasure to them gave. 



CANTO XXXIII. 

THEN soon the Demon foul began [4618] 
To spit forth raging Fire, 
To burn the Dwellings bright of Man, 
Forth stood the flaming Torch's Ban 
Abomination dire. 



90 BEOWULF. 

The loathsome Flyer of the Air 1 
Would e'en no living Creature spare ; 
The Dragon's War was seen full clear, 
His salvage Malice far and near, 
How the War-scathe 2 the Geatic State 
Oppress'd with War and furious Hate. 
Back to his Hoard ere Dawn of Day 
And secret Hall he bent his Way, 
When he the People of the Land 
In Flame had wrapt with Fire and Brand; 

He trusted in his Mound, 
His battled Walls, his Might of Hand,— 

Full false his Hopes he found. 
Anon to Beowulf was known ) 

What Deeds of Terrour had been done, > 
His home, the Weders' high Gift-Throne ) 
Of Palaces most fair array'd 
'Midst Waves of Flame in Ashes laid : 
And this the good Man's angry Breast 
Of all W^ar-Sorrows most oppress'd, 
E'en the wise Monarch ween'd that he 
His bitter Wrath indulg'd too free, 
Beyond what antient Laws accord, 
'Gainst Providence, 3 the Eternal Lord, 
With dark and murmuring Thoughts within 
His Bosom boil'd, — such Thoughts were sin. 
The fiery Dragon had o'erthrown 
And cast his People's Castle down, 
The Country's Fort with flaming Brand 
Had clean destroyed from out the Land. 
For this the Weders' warlike King 
Taught him what Woes Revenge can bring. 
The Lord of Earls' the Warriours' Aid 
Had then a Shield all Iron made 

In Blazon beautified, 
For well he knew that wooden Shield 
No Help in such a Fight might yield, 

Wood may not Flame abide. 



CANTO XXXIII. 91 

The i£theling aye good and great 
Must now his coming End await 

His Life's few Days' 4 career, 
And such is eke the Dragon's Fate 

Who held the Treasures dear. 
Unworthy him the Ring-prince 5 ween'd 
To seek the widely flying 6 Fiend 
Girt with a gallant Host's Array ; 
He never fear'd the Battle's Day, 
He held at nought the Dragon's Fight 
Unwearied Diligence and Might ; 
For many a Deed of Daring dread 
He had erewhile accomplished 
In Fight, since Hrothgar's fair Domain 
Triumphantly he freed from Stain, 
And grappling slew in Wars' Embrace 
Foul Grendel's Kin of loathly Race : 
Nor was it his most light Campaign 
When Higelac his King was slain, 
When Hrethel's Son, on Friesland's Soil, 
Lov'd Prince of Men, in War's Turmoil, 
Amid the Flow of War's red Drink, 7 
Beaten to Earth with Bills did sink. 
Then came Beowulf in his Might, 

For swimming Power had he, 8 
And on his nervous Arm were dight 
Full thirty 9 Instruments of Fight 

When plunging in the Sea. 
Nor needed then the hostile Host, 
Though active in the War, to boast, 
That they before him to the Field 
Had gone, and borne the pondrous Shield ; 
Few from the angry Warriour fled 
And their dear Homes revisited. 
O'er the Seal's Passage 10 homeward now 
Swam the bold Son of Ecgtheow, 
In Loneliness Distress and Pain, 
Unto his Countrymen again, 



92 BEOWULF. 

Where Hygd unto him did propone 
Rings, Treasures, Royalty, and Throne, 
She thought not 'gainst Outlanders bold 
Her Son his Father's Throne could hold. 
But now, though Higelac was gone, 

The Remnant of his People could 
In no one Thing prevail upon 

The Chieftain generous and good, 
Himself o'er Heardred Lord to make 
Or for his own the Kingdom take. 
But by his friendly Counsel he 
Maintain'd his Honour joyously, 
Till he maturer Age attained 
And o'er the Weder-Geats he reign'd. 
For him o'er Sea the Sons of Wrath 
The Children of Ohtere went forth, 
They had the Scylfing Prince oppress'd, 
Of all the Ocean-kings the best, 
Who in the Swio-land his Gold 
Divided, as a Chieftain bold: — 

This was a Sign of Fear : 
And Higelac's bold Son receiv'd 
A Wound that him of Life bereav'd, 

'Mid Swingings of the Sear. 11 
Then home the Son of Ongentheow 
Return'd, now Heardred lay full low ; 

The Throne and regal State 
He left Beowulf to maintain, 
And o'er the Geatic Realm to reign. 

That was a Monarch great. 



CANTO XXXIV. 

HE of the People's Ruin fell [4777] 

The sad Results remember'd well, 
And afterwards did Friendship show 
To Eadgills in Distress and Woe. 



CANTO XXXIV. 93 

O'er the wide Sea with Cohort fair 

With War and Armament, 
Stept 1 forth the Offspring of Ohtere, 
Forc'd him the Journey cold of Care, 2 

His royal Spirit spent, 
The Son of Ecgtheow at last 
Had every Evil safely past 
Of slippery Battle's valiant Deeds, 
Till gainst the Dragon he proceeds 
One luckless Day. In Anger dread, 
By twelve brave Youths accompanied 
The monster Dragon's Rage to meet 
Departed then the royal Geat. 
For he had heard how rose the Feud, 
The War-curse that his Heroes rued : 
Had come unto his Bosom bland 

The Treasure Vessel sheen, 
Through that unhappy Traitor's Hand, 
Who form'd the thirteenth of the Band, 
And of the Turmoil in the Land 

The Origin had been ; 
Who, Woe-begone in captive Chain, 
Must, downcast, lead them o'er the Plain. 
Against his Will he went, till he 
The lonely Hall-of-earth might see, 
Subterrain Barrow near the Shore, 
W T hich the wild Billows battle o'er, 
And which within was richly stored 
With wire-chas'd ornamental Hoard 
The salvage Warder, fierce and old, 
Held 'neath the Earth his treasur'd Gold, 
And no Man at an easy Fate 
That Treasure mote appropriate. 
The War-hard 3 Prince, the Geatic Thane, 
Did seated on the Ness remain, 
And to his Hearth-companions 4 true 
Full tenderly bade adieu, 
His Mind in sad and wandering State 



94 BEOWULF. 

And ready Death to meet ; 5 
Now measurelessly near was Fate 6 

That must the old Man greet, 
His Spirit-treasure 7 penetrate 
And Life from Body separate : 
The Prince not long his Life shall hold 
Inclosed within the Flesh's Fold. 8 
Thus spake Beowulf, Ecgtheow's Son : 
" I, in my Youth, full oft have known, 
In troublous Times, the Battle's Swell : — 
All this I can remember well. 
For seven Winters old was I 

When the dear Chieftain of the Land, 
Lord of the Geatic Treasury, 

Receiv'd me from my Father's Hand. 
King Hrethel me maintain'd, and gave 
Me Treasures rich and Banquets brave. 
For he respected Kindred's Tye, 
Nor less beloved of him was I, 
(A Warriour in his Castles fair,) 
Than even his own Children were, 
Than Haethcyn, Herebald, or e'en 
My own dear Higelac has been. 
For th' eldest was the Murther-bed 
By Kinsman's Deed unseemly spread, 
Since Haethcyn his beloved Lord 
With Arrow from the Bow-horn 9 gor'd, 
Missing his Mark, one luckless Brother 
With bloody Arrow shot the other. 
A Feud thus criminally made 
With Money could not be allay'd. 
Right sad was Hrethel's weary Heart ; 
Still must the Prince from Life depart 
All unaveng'd, — so sad and dire 
A Sight it is to aged Sire 
To bear, his youthful Son to see 
Riding upon the Gallows-tree : 10 
And he must sing his Sorrows' Lay 



CANTO XXXIV. 95 

"While hangs his noble Child, 
A Prize unto the Bird of prey, 
But aged and infirm he may- 
No Aid unto him yield : 
And Memory aye with Morning's Breath 
Reminds him of his Offspring's Death. 
Nor careth he within his Towers 

For other Heir to stay, 
Sith one by Death's malignant Powers 

Hath sadly past away, 
His Son's Abode he looks about 

In Care and Grief 11 to find 
The Wine-hall desolate, without 
Its once gay festive Wassail-rout 

The resting Place of Wind. 12 
The Hero lies in Darkness' 13 Thrall, 

The Knight he sleepeth sore, 
No Harp resoundeth in the Hall 
Nor Joy within the Castle-wall, 

As ever heretofore. 



CANTO XXXV. 

" npHEN forth departeth he in Lays, [4915] 

X And sings his Song of Pain, 
One after other every Place 
Seems to him but an empty Space 

Be it Abode or Plain. 
Thus boiling Sorrow of the Breast 
The Geats' Protector sore oppress'd 
For Herebald, nor could he ere 

Upon the Murtherer wreak the Feud, 
He could not hate the Warriour fair 

Though sore the loathsome Deed he rued. 
For Grief at this sad Hap he then 
Resign'd for aye the Joys of Men, 
He chose 1 at length God's blessed Light, 



96 BEOWULF. 

And left, (like those who Fortune sway,) 
His Sons his Town and Kingdom's Might, 

When from his Life he pass'd away. 
And then the Sweed's and Geats between 
Was Evil and Contention seen, 
And common Woe on Water wide, 
The Curse of War, when Hrethel died, 
Till Ogentheow's Offspring 2 . . . bold, 
' In Battle fierce, no Peace would hold 
Upon the Deep, but oft would pour 
The Ambush dread round Hreosna-burh. 
This may my Friend in sooth relate 
Of Feud and Crime, as Rumours state : 
For though the hostile Chieftain gain'd 

His Life, a Bargain dear, 
Haethcyn, the Angle King, sustain' d 
Mischief and Scathe severe. 
With Bill, I heard at Break of Day 
Kinsman did Kinsman cast to slay, 
W^hen Ongentheow met Eofer bold ; 

But Helm gave way 'neath Buffet rude. 
Pale fell to Earth the Scylfing old, 

But well enough the deadly Feud 
Remember'd his ferocious Hand 
Nor curb'd the Life-swing of the Brand. 
And I to him in full restor'd 

In Battle's Day what Treasures he 
To me had giv'n, with my light Sword, 

E'en as the Power was granted me ; 
And I receiv'd at Hrethel's Hand 
A joyous Heritage and Land. 
Nor had the valiant Monarch need 
Inferiour Warriours to gain, 
Either Gar-dan e of Gyfth or Sweed, 

And at a higher Charge maintain. 
Before him thus I ever would 
In Fight with Edge of Weapon good 

Alone maintain his Wars, 



CANTO XXXV. 97 

And thus till Death to do I cast, 

As long as this good Sword shall last, 

Which, time before and time since past, 

Has often serv'd my Cause : 
Since I, 'fore Nobles of the Land, 
That foul Day-raven, 3 with my Hand, 

The Hugan's Champion shent, 
Nor could he to the Frisian King 
At all the fair wrought Treasure bring. 

The Bosom's Ornament. 
But sank, his Banner's Guard, in Fight, 
A Prince succumbing in his Might, 
Nor was my Sword's keen Edge his Bane, 
I grasp'd him on the battle Plain, 
And crush'd and shatter'd in th' Embrace 
His Heart's Waves' bony Dwelling-place: 4 
But now must Edge of Bill, and Hand 
For Treasure war, and harden'd Brand." 
The Geatic Prince continued yet, 
These were his latest Words of Threat : 
" I, who in Days of youthful Might 
Full oft have dared the dangerous Fight, 
Now seek, my People's Guardian old, 
In Feud my Glory to uphold, 
If this foul Sin-scathe 5 dares withall 
To meet me from his earthy Hall. ' 
Then did the helm-clad Warriour fleet 
Each of his lov'd Companions greet 
For the last Time : — " Nor Brand nor Sear 
Against the Dragon would I bear, 
If with the Monster I descried 
How else to grapple in my Pride, 
As I with Grendel did of old ; 
But of this Battle-flame I hold 
'Tis hot, and fierce, and poisoned, 

I therefore Byrnie don and Shield, 
Nor to the Barrow's Guardian dread 

A single Footstep will I yield ; 
o 



98 BEOWULF. 

But it shall be unto us twain 

As Fate, Man's Maker, shall ordain, 

Beside these Walls. My Mind is set 

Worship and high Renown to get 

By this War-flying 6 Pest. Do ye, 

As Men at Arms in Panoply, 

Abide upon the Hill, to see 

Which of us two the War-rush o'er 

Shall of his W r ound recover more. 

No Quarrel here have ye and none 

Have other Men, 'tis mine alone 

Hard fight with this foul W T retch to share, 

Earlship achieve and Honours fair. 

I'll make this golden-treasure Hoarde 

My stal worth Valour's prey, 
Or War's life-bale 7 your aged Lord 

Shall fiercely sweep away." 
Forthwith beside his Buckler fair 
Uprose the lofty Chief, and bare 
Beneath the towering Cliffs of Stone 
His Helm and his Habergeon. 
His single Strength he trusted to, 
As Coward ne'er would dare to do. 8 
Then by the Wall perceived the Prince, — 
(Who, good in his Munificence, 
Had oft o'ercome in Battle's Crash, 9 
When hostile Troops together dash,) — 
While standing on a freestone Bridge, — 
A Stream break from the Mountain's Ridge ; 
The wave with Battle-flame 10 was hot, 
So that unburnt the Prince could not 
Attain the Depths where lay the Hoard, 
So high the Dragon's Fury soar'd. 
The Geatic Monarch then in Wrath 
Let from his Bosom Words go forth : 
Now storm 'd the Chief of Spirit stark, 

His Voice in loud and hostile Tone, 
That kindled Hatred deep and dark, 



CANTO XXXV. 99 

Enter'd beneath the hoary Stone. 
Full soon the Keeper of the Hoards 
Of human Tongue perceived the Words. 
The Warriour now may rest no more, 
His Season of Repose is o'er, 
Forth from the gloomy Rock at first 

The Monster's fiery Breath, 
War's boiling Torrent, 11 reeking burst, — 

Earth thunder'd underneath. 
Fenc'd by his Shield-rim's Covering, 
Forthwith the Geatic Hero-king 
Swift glided onward o'er the Plain 

The Stranger fell to meet ; 
The ring-bow'd 12 Monster's Heart was fain 

With Battle him to greet. 
His pondrous Sword, that Relic old 
Reckless of Edge 13 the War- king bold 

Already brandished, 
And either of the hostile twain, 
With Thoughts of Hate and deadly Bane, 

Look'd on his Foe with Dread. 
Firm by his lofty Buckler stood 
The Ruler of Companions good, 
With Movement quick the Dragon wound 
His Length in tortuous Circles round, 
Together coil'd midst flaming Gleed 
He to the Conflict doth proceed. 
Less Time unto the Warriour brave 
His pondrous Shield Protection gave 
For Life and Body in the Fray 
Than his Design requir'd that Day, 
W^hen he, the Day's first Part, must wield 
High Exultation in the Field 

As Fate did not permit. 
Uprais'd the Geatic Lord his Hand 
And with his mighty Relic Brand 

The colour' d Monster hit, 
That brown upon the Bone its Might 



]00 BEOWULF. 

Of Edge relax'd and 't would not bite 
80 sharply as the Theod-king 
Had Need, oppress'd and labouring. 
Then was the Mountain's-guardian wrath 

After that Buffet dire, 
And in a Mood full salvage forth 

He cast the murtherous Fire, 
And gleamed in Terrour wide and far 
The dreadful Meteour 14 of War. 
The Gold-prince of the Geatic Host 
The Joy of Victory could not boast, 
For naked at the Strife, his Sword 
Had treacherously fail'd its Lord, 
As ne'er should Iron good of old : 

For 't was no Deed of light Achieve, 
When Ecgtheow's Son, the Chieftain bold, 

Was doom'd the earthly Plain to leave, 

And his Desire to raise, 
For other Dwelling-place to cast, 
As each Man must resign at last 

His few poor earthly Days. 
Ere long the Wretches met again, 

The Hoarde's Guard fresh in Fury came, 
His stormy Bosom boil'd amain 

With a new Voice, his Breath of Flame. 
Right sorely was he now bested, 

Who erst did o'er the People reign, 
With raging Flame encompassed : 

Nor did his Hand-companions' 15 Train, 
Of Heroes' Sons a gallant-Band 
In Battle-splendour 16 round him stand, 
But sped them to the Forest's lairs 
To save those dastard Lives of theirs. 
Yet boil'd one faithful Heart of them 

With Griefs indignant Might, — 
The Force of Kindred nought can stem 

In him who thinks aright. 



101 



CANTO XXXVI. 

[5200] 

WIGLAF that lovely 1 Youth was styl'd, 
A Scylfing Prince, and Wihstan's Child, 

And Kinsman of iElfhere ; 
He saw his Lord beneath his Crest 
By fiery Heat full sore oppress'd, 

And in Remembrance bare 
How Honour high he had bestow'd 
Upon him, and the rich Abode 
Of the Wsegmundings, and moreo'er, 
The Rights his Father held before. 
He could not then refrain his Hand, 

But seiz'd his yellow linden Shield, 
And forth out-drew his antient Brand, 

The relic Ean-mund used to wield, 
Oht-ere's bold Son, all friendless slain 

By Wihstan's Sword on Battle Plain, 
Who from his Kinsman bare away 
Brown Helm and ringed Hawberk grey, 
His antient Eoten Scimetar, 

To him that Onela resign'd, 
His valiant Comrade's Weeds-of-war, 

Harness for Battle's Fray design'd. 2 
About the Feud, tho' he the Child 
Of his own Brother had exil'd, 
He ne'er would speak, but Years laid by 
The ornamented Panoply, 

Both Bill and Byrnie, till his Son * 
Might Worship win and Honour high, 

E'en as his Sire before had done. 
But 'mongst the Geats he handed o'er 
Of Arms to him unnumber'd Store, 
When old, infirm, and failing fast, 
At length away from Life he pass'd. 
This was the first Occasion for 



102 BEOWULF. 

The youthful Hero to assay, 
With his free Lord the Rush of War, 

Nor did his Courage melt 3 that day ; 
Nor did his Kinsman's Relic true 

In Battle's Turmoil weaker grow, 
And this when they together drew 

The Dragon soon had cause to know. 
Wig-laf his Comrades then address'd 
In righteous Words from grieving Breast. 
" Well has my Memory preserv'd 
What we, whene'er the Mead was serv'd, 

Within the Banquet-hall, 
Did promise to our Lord ; — that we, 
In any such Necessity, 
Would Service do and Fealty yield 
For these rich Trappings of the Field, 

For Helms and Swords withall ; 
And in this Fray, when freely he 
Chose us his Following to be, 
He bade us Glory mind, and gave 
Into my Hands these Treasures brave : 
Good Warriours he suppos'd we were 
And valiant Men the Helm to bear : 
And though our Lord did e'en believe 
Alone this Action to achieve, 
For he of all Men 'neath the Sun 
Most Deeds of Daring wild 4 hath done, 
Yet now the Day is come at length 
When our great Monarch needs the Strength 
Of Warriours good. — Come let us speed 
To aid our Chieftain at his Need, 
God wot — to me 't were far more leif 
That with my gold-bestowing Chief 
My Flesh were bosom'd in the Gleed, 5 — 
For base to me it seems indeed 

With Bucklers home to go, 
Unless we first have in the Strife 
Preserv'd the Weder-Chieftain's Life, 



CANTO XXXVI. 103 

And fell'd to Earth the Foe. 
For well I know 't will not agree 

With antient Right at all, 
Of all the Geatic Chiefs that he 
Alone should Toil and Hardship dree 

And in the Battle fall. 
To us the Sword and Aventayle 
Byrnie and pondrous Shroud- of-mail 

Shall be in common all." 
Then Helm on Brow he quickly sped 

Unto the Slaughter-reek 6 
To aid his Lord so sore bested, 

And thus did briefly speak. 
" Belov'd Beowulf now do thou 

Full well perform that all, 
That thou in early Youth didst vow, — 
That while thou lived'st thou Id'st ne'er allow 

Justice and Earth to fall. 
And now shalt thou, renown'd in Fight, 

A single-minded iEtheling, 
Defend thy Life with all thy Might 

And I will aid unto thee bring." 
He said : the Dragon raging came, 

The odious crafty- Fiend again, 7 
Illumin'd in his boiling Flame, 

Upon his Foes, the hated Men. 
Soon the young Warriour's Shield of Wood 
In Flames around the Bordure stood, 
Nor did his pondrous Shirt of Mail 
To aid him in the Fight avail, 
And 'neath his Kinsman's Shield he came, 
W'hen his was pulverized 8 by Flame. 
The War-king call'd to Mind at length 
His Glory and his mighty Strength, 
And with his War-bill smote so rude, 
That driv'n into the Head it stood, 
Nsegling 9 old Sword and gray of Hue, 
False in the Fray, in Splinters flew. 



104 BEOWULF. 

It was not given him in that Raid 
That Edge of Steel should be his aid ; 
Too mighty? I have heard, that Hand, 
Too great it's Swing for any Brand, 
That when he bare to Battle Sword 
Wound-harden'd 10 't would no Aid afford. 
Full fierce the fiery Pest again 
Rush'd on the war-renowned Thane, 
And soon repaid his Wrath amain, 

For round his Neck he coil'd, 
All hot and grim, with Bane full sore, 
That he was cover'd with his Gore, 

In Waves his Heart's Blood boil'd. 



CANTO XXXVII. 

THEN, in his Monarch's dire Distress, [5384] 
The youthful Thane, I wiss, 
Display'd a Courage wearyless 
And stalworth Might and Skilfulness : 

(A Nature bold w r as his, 1 ) 
Heedless of Helm, his Hand did glow 2 

To give his Kinsman Aid, 
Downward he smote the Demon Foe 
Full stark in Stowre so sturdy Blow 
That blood-discolour'd deep and low 

Div'd 3 in the solid Blade, 
And the dread Flame, less fierce and slow, 

With failing Fury play'd. 
Again the Monarch in that Hour 
Resum'd his Conciousness and Power, 
And quick his Slaughter-dagger true, 
His Byrnie's Belt that hung unto, 
Bitter and sharp, the Geat Prince hent, 
And therewith up the Middle rent 4 

The Monster-dragon's Hide ; 
Thus fell'd the kindred Thanes the Foe, 



CANTO XXXVII. 105 

And both together laid him low 

And quell'd his reckless Pride, 
(Thus good at Need should be a Thane,) 
So that the Prince did Vic'try gain 
By his earthly Deeds 5 of Might and Main, 

When he the Danger tried. 
But now the Wound the Dragon fell 
Had wrought him, gan to burn and swell, 
And soon he found the baleful Pest 
Of Poison boiling in his Breast. 
Approach'd him then the iEtheling, 
For by the Wall the wounded King 

Sat musing on a Stone, 
On Gyants' Work he wond'ring gaz'd ; 
Stone Vaults on massy Columns rais'd 
The everlasting Cave embrac'd 

Within its Circuit lone. 
The Thane immeasurably good 6 
His well-lov'd Lord bestain'd with Blood, 
The famous Chief, of Battle tir'd, 
Did wash, and of his Health inquired. 
Beowulf spake, and of his Wound, 

The deadly-slaughterous Wound, 7 he said, 
His Days'-whhVs Ending he had found, 

His earthly Pleasures now were fled, 
The Number of his Days gone by, 
And Death immeasurably nigh. 8 
" And now would I to Son of mine 
These goodly Weeds of War resign, 
If to succeed me any Heir 
My Body's Offspring granted were. 
'Tis now full fifty Winters long 
This People have I rul'd among, 
Nor has there any neighbour King 

Dar'd me to greet in Fight, 
Surrounded by his Following, 

Or Terrour to excite. 9 
In Patience have I waited for 



106 BEOWULF. 

Whatever Time has brought, 10 
And well mine own have holden, nor 

Deceit have ever sought, 
Nor sworn unnumber'd Oaths have I 
In Leasing and in Perjury. 
For this I may expect to see, 

Now sick with mortal Pain, 
Eternal Joy, nor needs to me 
Man's ruler Punishment decree, 
When Life shall forth of Body flee, 

For Kinsman's Murther-bane. 
To see, dear Wig-laf quickly go 

The hoarde the hoary Stone beneath, 
Now reft of all his Wealth, the Foe 

Lies wounded in the Sleep of Death. 
Haste thou, that I the Treasure old 
May know, and the Amount of Gold, 
And that I speedyly may see 
The star-bespangled Jew ell'ry 11 

And Gems of cunning Art, 
That with my Life and Nation bold, 
That I so long have joy'd to hold, 

More softly I may part." 



CANTO XXXVIII. 

[5500] 

RIGHT quickly at his Chieftain's Word, 
As I have heard, did Wihstan's Son 
Obey his wounded war-sick Lord, 

And bare his ring'd Habergeon, 
His richly-broider'd Battle-sark 
Beneath the Cavern's Arches dark ; 
And as the Kindred-hero bold, 

Exulting in his Victory, 
Went round the Rock, full plenteous Gold 

And Gems he glittering there did see, 
All heavy strewn upon the Ground, 



CANTO XXXVIII. 107 

A Marvel all the Wall around, 

The Den where did the Dragon rest, 

That antient twy -light-flying Pest, — 

Of antient Men the Goblets fair 

Well chac'd, with none to own them there, 

And many a rusty Helm and old, 

With Bracelets deftly wrought in Gold, 

Within the Cave doth bide ; 
(Full easily may Man despise 
The Wealth, in Earth that buried lies, 

Let him who will it hide). 
And high among the Treasures brave 
He saw a golden Banner wave, 
Most wondrous of the Things he found, 
By magic Charms together bound, 

That Light around it threw, 
That he might scan the Cave around 

The Den of Exile view. 
The Dragon there was nowhere seen, 
He with the Sword had slaughter'd been. 
Then, as I heard, that Barrow dread, 

By gyants wrought in Days of old, 
Was by one Hero plundered 

Of all its mighty Hoarde of Gold, 
So that he loaded on his Breast, 
Dishes, and Cups, what lik'd him best, 
The Standard too away he bore 
All other Banners bright before, — 
A brass Bill edg'd with Iron keen, 

Erewhile that long'd to antient Lord, 
To whom it had a long Time been 

Protector of his Treasure Hoarde, 
Before his Store who bore full stark 

The raging Flame's terrific breath, 
Hot boiling in the Midnight dark, 

Until at length he died the Death. 
The Messenger with anxious Haste 
His Steps full speedyly retrac'd, 



108 BEOWULF. 

To give his yearning Soul Relief, 
And know if th' daring-hearted 1 Chief, 

Now sick and wounded sore, 
The Weder Prince upon the Plane 
He yet alive should find again, 

As he had left before. 
Then quickly with his Treasure-store 

His Lord he found hard by, 
The mighty Chieftain, bleeding sore, 

The End of Life full nigh, 
And gan to sprinkle him about 

With Water, as at first, 
Till Words, his Bosom's Hoarde 2 from out 

His failing Spirit burst. 
Beowulf spake, as from his Seat 3 
Look'd on the Gold the aged Geat 
" Most hearty Thanks in Words I bring 
The Lord of all, the Glory King, 
The eternal Lord for all the Gold 
And Treasure that I here behold, 
That for my well-lov'd People I 
Such Wealth have gain'd before I die, 
Now have I bought this Treasure Hoarde. 

At my Life's Price right prudently, 
At the State's Need 'twill Aid afford, 

And longer here I may not be. 
Command to raise the great in Fight 
A Mound upon the Cliffy Height, 
Bright after the funereal Fire, 
That high on Hronesnaess may aspire 
And to the People of my Land 
A lasting Monument may stand, 
That the vast Ocean's Sailors brave 

May call Beowulf's Mound, 
When o'er the Darkness of the Wave 

Afar the Brentings 4 bound." 
Then from his Neck the warriour King 
Forthwith unclasp'd the golden Ring 



CANTO XXXVIII. 109 

And to the youthful Thane, 
Resigned his Helm of golden Hue, 
His royal Ring and Byrnie too. 

In Gladness to retain. 
" Thou art the last remaining Stay 

Of our Woegmunding Stem, 
My Sons hath Fate swept all away, 
Earls in their Might, to Death's dark Sway ; — 

And I must after them." 
This ere the Pyre the old Man chose, 5 
The Battle-wave that furious glows, 

His Bosom's latest Word 
And from his Breast his Spirit goes, 
To seek the blessed Doom of those, 

Who ne'er from Truth have err'd. 



CANTO XXXIX. 

THEN, to the youthful Hero's Grief, [5637] 
He saw his most beloved Chief, 
As on the Earth destroyed he lay, 
With Life departing fast away. 
There also lay upon the Plain 
The Dragon dread that him had slain ; 

Bereft of Life, and quell'd by Force, 
Th' ill-coiling 1 Monster can maintain 

No longer now his treasure Stores : 
But hard-wrought Shields and Sword-edge bright, 
The Trophies of the Hammers Might, 2 

Have swept him forth away, 
So that the widely-flying Pest 
Sank wounded to his deadly Rest 

Near where the Treasures lay. 
Nor can he in exulting Power 
Flit through the Lyft at midnight Hour, 
Nor, proud of his Possessions, range 
Exhibiting Appearance strange, 



110 BEOWULF. 

But he is fall'n to Earth in Death 
The War-chiefs Handy-work beneath. 3 
Scarce is the Man, as I am told, 4 
The Man of Might, in Action bold, 
Has prospered when he rushing came 
'Gainst Poison -pest with Breath of Flame, 
If with rash Hand he sought to make 

A Stir in that ring Hall, and found 
The Guardian of the Stores awake, 

Abiding on his treasure Mound. 
Even the great Beowulf won 

Only with Death that lordly Store ; 
For either mighty Champion 

This poor Life's End was hanging o'er. 
Meanwhile that false 5 and traitour Crew 
Of Laggard- warriours 6 onward drew ; 
Forth from the Forest's gloomy Shade 

The dastard ten career, 
Who, when their Lord had Need of Aid 

Dar'd not to wield the Spear. 
Asham'd their Shields and War-weeds 7 where 
The aged Chieftain lay they bare, 
On Wiglaf look'd in humbled State ; — 
The active Champion weary sate 
Beside the Shoulders of his Lord, 
And gently o'er him Water pour'd. 
Yet can he nought avail, (though all 

He would have barter'd that to gain), 
His warriour Monarch to recall 

And Life on Earth to him detain ; 
Nor would the Doom of God's high Will 
Turn, but rule all, as it doth still. 
Ready on the young Hero's Part 
Was Answer grim to each whose Heart 

Had fail'd him in the Fight ; 
And thus then Wiglaf, Wikstan's Son, 
Disconsolate of Heart begun, 

And Look unloving 8 dight. 



CANTO XXXIX. Ill 

" Lo ! well may he, whose constant Care 
It is to speak the Truth declare, 
Of our good Lord, whose Bounty gave 
Those Treasures and those Trappings brave 

That on your Limbs ye bear, 
When at the Ale-bench as he sate, 
Byrnie and Helm the Monarch great 

Unto his Thanes would share, 
Whome'er he found or near or far 

Most valiant in the Fray, 
That he his goodly Weeds of War, 

Cast hastily away. 
For when War superven'd, our King 
Could little boast his Following ; 
But God, of Victory the Lord, 

Did grant him to achieve in Fight 
High Vengeance with his single Sword 

W T hen he had Need of stalworth Might. 
But small Defence could I supply, 
To guard his Life, but still have I 
Attempt, beyond my Measure, 9 made 
My Kinsman at his Need to aid. 
And when with my good Sword I strake 

The Life-pest, I more weak became, 
But he on Purpose more out-brake, 

And boil'd the more with raging Flame, 
Too few Defenders throng'd were found 
At Time of Need their Prince around. 
Now costly Service, gift of Sword, 
Delights that Heirship doth afford, 
And all support, must fail your Clan : — 
Stript of his Land-right every Man 
Of all your Family must go, 
When far the iEthelings shall know 
Of this your dastard Flight in War, 

Deed with Dishonour rife : — 
Death to an Earl were better far 

Than ignominious Life.'' 10 



112 BEOWULF. 



CANTO XL. 

THE noble Work forthwith he bade [5779] 
Known to the warriour Band be made, 
Where on the Sea-cliff's beetling Height 
Distress'd in Mind, with Bucklers dight, 

The livelong Day from Morning sate 
The Company of Earls, and they 
The Close of that eventful Day 

And their lov'd Lord's Return await. 
And he who rode along the Ness, 
Would not the novel Tale suppress, 
But detail'd all in Faithfulness. 
" The Chieftain of the Geatic Host, 
The Weder Nation's Joy and Boast, 
Dwells, by the Dragon's Prowess cast, 
In fatal Rest, on Death-bed fast. 
And opposite to him doth lye, 
W 7 ith Sword-wounds sick 1 th' old Enemy. 
His Sword of none Avail he found 
The scaly Monster's Hide to wound ; 
And Wihstan's Son, brave Wig-laf, o'er 
Beowulf sits in Grief full sore, 
Earl over Earl that lifeless sleeps 
Head-ward of Love and Loathing keeps. 2 
Now may the Land expect, I ween, 
The Turmoil of the Battle-scene, 
When 'mongst the Franks 'tis widely spread 
And Frisians, that our King is dead. 
Full sternly with the Hugan erst 
The deadly Feud was form'd at first, 
W T hen Higelac to Friesland went 
Girt with a naval Armament : 
And him his Foes 3 in War o'erthrew, 

For boldly to the Fight 
In overwhelming Force they drew, 



CANTO XL. 113 

So that the Warriour bold and true 

Must bow beneath their Might. 
Thus fell he in the battle Feud, 

And to his Heroes brave 
No longer Time the Chieftain good 

The beauteous Treasure gave. 
Since then 'twixt Mere-Wioing Race 
And us no Peace has taken place, 
Nor from the Sweeds a Whit can I 
Expect of Truth or Amity: 
For wide 'tis known of Ongentheow 
By Haethcyn Hrethel's Son laid low, 
At Hrefha-wood when in their Pride 
The Scylfings first to Geat-land hyed. 
To him the Father of Oht-here 

Dread, wise, and aged gave 
Full soon a Blow of Hand, 4 and tare 
From out his Troop of Virgins fair 

The Ocean-captain brave. 
The antient Man the Mother old 
Of Onela and Oht-here bold, 
Robb'd of her Gold, with him did take, 
And for the Murtherers did make 
A hot Pursuit, untill that they, 
Reft of their Lord in that Affray, 
To Hrefnes-holt scarce made their Way. 
Then whom the Sword had left as yet, 
Weary with Wounds, he sore beset, 
And all Night long full oft did he 
Woe to the hapless Race decree ; 
He said that he at Break of Day 
Some with the Dagger's Edge would slay, 
And others, for his Sport, 5 that he 
Would hang upon the Gallows-tree. 
But Comfort rose with early Day 
To the sore-hearted Troop, when they 
Heard swell the Trumpets' Echo bright 

And Horn of Higelac ; 



114 BEOWULF. 

The good Chief, with his People's Might, 
Was coming on their Track. 



CANTO XLI. 

[5887] 

THEN valiant S weeds and Geats between 
The bloody Sward was widely seen, 
The Rush of men to Slaughter rude, 
And how the Folk did whet the Feud. 
Earl Ongen-theow, the good Chief, then 
Turn'd with his Comrades back again, 
Aged and sorrowful, to reach 
A Fastness on the Ocean's Beach : 
He'd heard of all the Hrethling's Might 
And the proud Chieftain's Skill in Fight, 
Nor trusted that he could withstand 
His Foeman's warlike Sailor Band, 
And 'gainst their desperate Onslaught hold 
His Child, his Bride, and Hoarde of Gold: 
So the old Chief retreated thence 
Beneath his Earth-incampment's Fence. 
Then did the Svveeds unto our King 
Possessions tender, and to bring 

A Banner's Tribute due, 
Forth went they o'er the peaceful Plain ; — 
Then Hrethling Warriours thronged amain 

Around the fated crew. 
The grey-hair'd Ongen-theow's Delay 
Was with the Sword aveng'd that day, 
So that the Theod-king must own 
The Sway of Eofer's will alone. 
And him did Wulf, great Wonred's Child, 
With Weapon reach in Anger wild, 
That for that Souse the Blood amain 
Sprang 'neath his Hair from out the Vein. 
Yet not a Whit of craven Fear 

The Scylfing old betray 'd, 



CANTO XLI. 115 

But with a Buffet more severe 

The Battle-thrust repaid. 
For when the Theod-monarch round 
Did thither turn, no single Wound 
Could the swift Blade of Wonred's Son 
Inflict the aged Man upon, 
Who smote through th' Helm upon his Crown 
So that blood-stained he bowed him down. 
To Earth he fell, not yet in Death, 
Though scath'd by Wound, he 'scap'd with Breath. 
With broad Blade Higelac's bold Thane, 
Where lay his Brother on the Plain, 
Let the old Eoten Sword o'erwhelm 
O'er the Shield-wall the Entish Helm. 
To Earth the People's Shepherd bent, 
The aged King — his Life was shent. 
But many round his Kinsman wound 1 
And raised him quickly from the Ground, 

Sith all the Slaughter-plain 
Room to command was for them found, 2 

While Thane did plunder Thane. 
From Ongentheow they took away 

His hard Hilt-sword and iron Vest, 
The Trappings of the Warriour grey 

Were thence by Higelac possess'd, 
Who promis'd for them Guerdon high, 
And kept his Promise gallantly. 
The War-rush did the Geatic Lord, 
Great Hrethel's Offspring, from his Hoard, 
When home return'd, right well reward 

To Wulf and Eofer bold, 
For he, beside the Treasures brave, 
To each a hundred thousand gave, 

Land and lock'd Rings of Gold. 
And no Man on the wide Earth may 
Reproach them with the Gifts, for they 

Fought for their Honours high, 3 
To Eofer too he gave withall 



116 BEOWULF. 

His Daughter, Glory of his Hall, 

Dear Gage of Amity. 
This is the Enmity and Feud, 
The Murtherous-hate 4 of Men of Blood, ' 
The Reason which. I ween, will pour 
The Sweon Race upon our Shore, 
When they shall hear that our great Lord 
Lies lifeless, who both Realm and Hoard 
Of Scyldings brave 'gainst Foes did hold 
After the Fall of Heroes bold, 
The Rede his People had conceiv'd 

Fulfilling gallantly, 5 
And even farther yet achiev'd 

Exploits of Earlship high. 
The sooner now the better far 

To look upon our Theod-king, 

And him who gave us Rings to bring 
Aloft on the funereal Car. 
And at the noble Monarch's Pyre 
No Hero's Gold shall melt in Fire, 
For here are Treasures all untold, 
A grimly purchas'd Hoard of Gold 
And now with his own Life at last 
He bought the Rings, which shall be cast 
To greedy Fire-brand to devour 
And for the Flame to cover o'er. 
No Earl shall for Memorial bear 

This Treasure fair to see, 
Nor Maiden on her Neck shall wear 

The ringed Jewell'ry. 
But stript of Gold and sorrowing 

Not once, but oft, shall all 
Tread foreign Lands, since now our King, 
Hath laid aside his Revelling, 

His Wit, and Song withall. 
The Lance at Morn shall cold be found, 
Heav'd in the Hands, in Hands whirl'd round* 
Nor shall the Harp with Morning's gale 



CANTO XLI. 117 

The Warriour wake, but Raven pale 6 
Soaring all greedy o'er the Dead 
Shall tell the Eagle how he sped 
When with the Wolf upon the Plain 
At even Meal he stript the Slain," . 

Thus spake the active Wight, 
A Speech full dreary to be heard, 
But be it Weird or be it Word, 

He was not far from right. 
Rose the whole Troop dispirited, 

Whom boiling Tears bedew, 
And 'neath the Eagle's Nest they sped 

The Wonder dread to view. 
There, lifeless on the sandy Ground, 
Stretch'd on the Bed of Death, they found 
The Chief who gave them Rings before ; — 
The good Man's ending Day was o'er. 
The warriour-King, the Weders' Pride 
A Death full marvellous had died. 7 
And, yet more wondrous to behold, 
They also saw the Dragon old, 
As opposite upon the Plain 
He lay, a loathly Object slain, 
Bescorch'd with Gleed, and grim to view T , 
And fifty Feet in Measure too 

As there outstretch'd at length he lay. 
He had maintain'd the Joys of Flight 
Through the dark Atmosphere of Night, 
And down had wended in his Might, 

A Visit to his Den to pay. 
But he was now in Death-bonds fast, 
His Earth-cave's Joys for ever past. 
And near him Cups and Vases, Hoardes 
Of Dishes lay, and pretious Swords, 
Rusty and eaten through, as they 

Beneath the Bosom of the Earth 
A thousand 8 Winters dwelling lay, 

Sith that Heir-loom of mighty Worth, 



118 BEOWULF. 

Of antient Men the Treasure sheen, 
By Spells incorapass'd round had been, 
So that no Man might e'er approach 
That antient Hall of Rings to touch, 
Had not great God himself on high, 
The very King of Victory, 

Giv'n it to whom He would, 
(Since Man He looks with favour on,) 
To ope the Hoarde, e'en such a one 

As unto him seem'd good. 



CANTO XLII. 

THE Strife, it then was clearly seen, [6111] 
To him had unpropitious been, 
Who in Unrighteousness and Sin 
Had hidden 111 his Mound within. 
The Keeper of the Hill had slain 
Some one among the Sons of Men, 
Then Vengeance sore the Feud did bring : — 
And where is Cause for Wondering? 
The Earl, of high Renown in Strife, 
Had fared unto the End of Life, 
For with his Children no Man may 
Long occupy the Mead-bench gay. 
So it befell Beowulf, when 
He sought the Mountain -warder's Den, 
The crafty Demon, nor wherethrough 
Should be his World's-off-cutting 1 knew. 
Till Doomsday thus the Rulers' dread 
What's done have deeply treasured, 
So that the Man with Sin bestain'd 
May fast in Hell-bonds be detain'd, 
Punish'd for aye with Sights of Dread 

Who wasted Earths' fair Plain, 
Better he ne'er had compassed 

His sateless Greed of Gain. 



CANTO XLII. 119 

Wiglaf, the Son of Wihstan, spake : 

" Oft many an Earl, I ween, 
Shall suffer for one Hero's sake, 

As unto us hath been. 
The People's Shepherd, our lov'd King, 
We ne'er could to our Counsel bring-, 
That he should not to Fight defy 
The Treasure-guard, but let him lye 

Where he had lain before, 
Inhabiting his Dwelling steep, 
Holding his high imbattl'd Keep 

Till the World's Days are o'er. 
The grim-gain'd Hoarde is giv'n to view, 
Too strong the Grant him thither drew : 2 
I therein made me Room to see 

The House's Treasures all, 
Hard Journey was permitted me 

Under the earthy Wall. 
A vast main Burthen quick I caught 
In Hand, and to my Monarch brought. 
As yet he lived, and not a few 

On me his last Commands he laid, 
Aged, and wise, and keen, — and you 

Kindly to greet for him he bade : 
And o'er the Spot, whereon shall blaze 
His funeral Pile, he bids you raise, 
Lofty and vast the Mound of Fame, 

According to his Deeds of Worth, 
E'en as most worshipful his Name 

Of Warriours widely o'er the Earth, 
What Time he could enjoy in Health 
His City's Opulence and Wealth. 
Now let us haste and seek once more 
To see the insidious Treasure Store, 

The Wonder 'neath the Wall, 
For scarce enough as I declare 
Can ye admire those Treasures fair 

Rings and broad Gold withall. 



120 BEOWULF. 

Now let them haste, the Bier prepare, 

'Gainst we come back again, 
And we will then our Monarch bear, 
The most belov'd of Men, to where 
In God's bless'd Covenant 3 and Care 

Long time he shall remain" 
The War-beast, 4 Wihstan's Son, then bade 
Both wide and far Command be made 
To Chiefs o'er Houses bearing Sway, 

That Wood to build the funeral Pyre 
They should from far Estates convey, 

To meet the good Prince at the Fire. 
" Now shall the wan Flame wax amain, 

Now shall the Gleed devour 
The Heroes' King, who did sustain 

Full oft the Iron Shower, 
When Storms of Darts propell'd with Might 
Over the Shield-wall took their Flight, 

Withstood the Arrow's Cast 
With Feathers wing'd, and onward right 

With Arrows cover'd pass'd." 
Now Wiglaf's Care from out the Crew 
Of royal Thanes the noblest drew, 
And 'neath the treacherous Roof went he, 
Eight Heroes for his Company, 
While one bold Youth, a Torch in Hand 
Proceeded foremost 5 of the Band. 
And no one then was present there 
'Mongst them by lot that Hoarde to share, 
For keeperless some Part they view'd 
Uncar'd for in the Hall lye strew'd, 
And little any one did care 
Quick the dear Treasures 6 forth to bear. 
Then cast they from the Ness's Brow 
The Dragon to the Waves below, 
And let the Floods imbosom deep 
The Wretch who did the Treasure keep. 
Then was the Hoarde of twisted Gold, 



CANTO XLII. 121 



Of every Kind a Store untold, 

Laden upon a Wain, 
And thus the valiant iEtheling 
The hoary-headed warriour King", 

Was unto Hrones-ness ta'en. 



CANTO XLI1I. 



THE People of the Geats then made [6268] 
A mighty 1 Pile and broad 
With Helms bedeck'd and Shields array'd 
And Byrnies bright, as he them bade, 
And in the Midst the Heroes layd, 
Weeping, their Prince of lofty Grade, 

Their well beloved Lord. 
Then gan the Warriours on the Mound 

The mightyest of funereal Fires 
To wake, black Wood-smoke circling- round 

From Matter's-enemy 2 aspires. 
Its Roar with Weeping mingled pass'd, 
And Wind urg'd blending, till at last, 
Hot on the Breast, it open rent 
The Bosom's bony Tenement. 3 
With grieving Mind the Chiefs deplor'd 
The Death of their beloved Lord, 
And such a Song of Mourning loud 
[They 4 sang-, the while] the winding Crowd 
[Of] Virgin [s all in weeping sore 
Grievous] enough their Sorrows pour, 
[That they their Prince, their Cities'] Head, 
[The Troop's Defence,] the Battle's Dread, 
v* [Saw the] wan [Flame infold,] 
The Warriour-helm upon his Head, 

While Smoke through Heaven [roll'd.] 
Then rais'd the Geatic People o'er 
The Billows of the Ocean's Shore 
A mighty Mound, both broad and high, 
R 



122 BEOWULF. 

That far the Sailors might espy. 

Ten Days they laboured at the Mound, 

The Beacon of the War-renown'd, 

Of Funeral Pyres the best, 
And with a Wall they fenced it round, 
As antient Men in Art profound 

Most worthy did suggest. 
Then on the Pile the golden Rings, 

And Jewels bright, and Gems they pour'd, 
Whate'er the valiant iEthelings 

Had taken from the Dragon's Hoarde. 
The Prince's mighty Treasure then 
To Earth was left to hold again, 

Upon the Sand a golden Store, 
Where still it lyeth, unto Men 

As useless as it was before. 
The Troop of Princes rode around, 
The Beasts-of-war 5 about the Mound, 
In Number twelve, and they would sing, 
And call to Mind their valiant King, 
Themselves would speak, pour forth their Lays, 
His Earlship laud, his Valour praise, 
With Praise they judg'd him, as 'tis good 
A Man his well-lov'd Sovereign should 
Extol in Words and love in Heart, 
When from the Body he must part, 

A useless Thing henceforth to be. 
Their Sorrow for their well-lov'd Lord 
The Geatic People thus out-poured, 

His Comrades dear, and said that he, 
Of Kings throughout the Earth, 
Was e'en the gentlest to Mankind, 
The Man of most benignant Mind 
The Prince most to his People kind, 
Most earnest after Worth. 6 




NOTES. 

INTRODUCTORY CANTO. 



1 /^i AR-DANES. The Anglo-Saxons often compounded 
VJT even the Names of Nations with Words relative to 
War or some Attribute of the People, as e. g. Gar-Danes, 
from gap. a dart, as indicative of warlike Greatness, Hring- 
Danes, i. e. rich, having many Rings, Heatho-Scylfings War- 
Scylfings. 

2 Fea-pceapr pun'oen. It was Scef and not Scyld who 
was so founden according to the Chroniclers. See Intro- 
duction p. xvi. 

3 Opep. hrion-riabe, 

4 Beaga bpytran. The Distributer of Rings. I imagine 
that Rings were the circulating Medium of the Time re- 
ferred to, and used as Coin. Abundance of this Sort of 
Coin, and Scales for weighing it, as well as many Bracelets 
and other antient Ornaments may be seen in the Copen- 
hagen Museum, which the extensive Learning and atten- 
tive Diligence of Professor Thomsen have rendered the most 
perfect and best arranged Collection of Northern Antiquities 
in the World. Still undoubtedly Rings and Bracelets of 
great Value and elaborate Workmanship were worn by both 
Sexes, and were frequently presented to Victors and Heroes 
as the Guerdons of their Achievements. 

5 This Method of disposing of the Dead, though not usual, 
was not unknown in the North. In the Edda of Saamund, 
vol. ii. p. 120, when Sigmundr's Son, Sinfiotli is murther- 
ed by his Mother Borghildr, then " Sigmundr bar hann lan- 
gar leidir i fangi ser. ok kom at firbi einom miovom ok lbn- 
gom. ok var <5ar skip eitt litib ok ma<5r einn a. Han baup 
Sigmundi far of fibrpinn. En er Sigmundr bar likit ut a ski- 



124 NOTES. 

pit. pa var batrinn hlabinn. Karl msellti at Sigmundr skyldi 
fara fur inn a fibrftinn. Karl hratt ut skipino ok hvarf begar." 
Sigmundr bare him a long Way in his Bosom and came to a 
narrow and long Ford, and there was a little Vessel and one man 
in it. He promised Sigmundr to go over the Ford. Sigmundr 
put the Body into the Vessel, and then was the Boat laden. The 
Churl told Sigmundr that he would go first into the Ford. He 
thrust off the Ship and vanished. 



CANTO I. 

1 FopiS-ge-riimed 
On popiulb pocon. 

3 Ongenthe6w. The Words here supplied from Mr. 
Kemble's Conjecture, are " o'er the Tide who passed, op ept 
p ■£. pohice. 

4 Buton polc-p cap.e 
Xnb peopium gumena. 

5 Da ic pibe ^e-pjaae^n. 

6 On pypipre ge-lomp. 

7 Heorot is probably Roskilde, said to have been built by 
Roe, the Hrothgar of our Poem. Old H. D. Hruod-ger, 
Ruedeger, Rudeger ; Engl. Roger. 

8 CDaecnan pcol'fce. Was destined to grow weak. The 
meaning of this and the preceding Lines, 164-170, is rather 
obscure. In the Original they stand thus, 

£eabo pylma bad It awaited the hostile Whelm 

LaSan hgep. Of loathly Flame. 

Ne paep hit len^e ba 3 en Nor was it long moreover be- 
fore 
Daer pe pecj here That the hero bade [his Fol- 

lowers] 
XSum ppepuan. Swear with Oaths [of Fealty]. 

Xpreri pael-nifce Afterwards through deadly 

Malice 
UJascnan pcolbe. He should [i. e. was fated to] 

become weak 
This seems a difficult and unconnected Construction ; and 
whether Hr6thgar's Palace ever were destroyed by Fire I 
know not. Perhaps we may suppose an Attempt on the Part 
of the Enemy to burn it during the Progress of the Work : 
then, by reading the last line priaecan pcylbe, the const™ 
tion becomes simpler, and translates " Nor was it long ir 



NOTES. 125 

over after the [Act of] deadly Malice that the Hero hade [his 
Followers] swear with Oaths to avenge the Guilt." This was 
too bold an Alteration to admit into the Text, hut if the 
Reader prefer it he may instead of the two Lines "But after- 
wards abate" substitute the following : 

The Hero bade his Followers swear 
For insult on his Palace fair 

The Wrong to compensate. 

9 tDhre-beojihrne pang 
Spa paerep. be-bu^eS. 

10 Fipel-cynnep earit>. 

11 The Notion of evil Monsters being bred from the Race 
of Cain seems to have arisen from Gen. vi. 4. The latter 
verse states : 

i2"nr™ q:i unn djks ptf? *)3 d^9?o 
: nyfcj Jtfjtf DViyp n$g nnn-n nan on 1 ? 

There were Abortive (or Monstrous) Births ( Vulg. Gigantes) 
in the Earth in those days, and also after that the sons of Elo- 
him went in unto the daughters of Men and generated of them : 
There were the Heroes of old, men of name : and it was no 
doubt from the Traditions relative to the meaning of this 
obscure Verse, that Abulfarag (Edit. Kirsch and Le Brun. 
pp. 4, 5) took his account, which runs thus : 

V. ^ V V V 7 

]-I-ai-^ wtOIQJJS 0?Ol^Z] f s . h*+*.9 OT.JLS},.— ■ 

. ^DfM5 )iQ^U^ ^Q-"^ 'r^t 2 ^? k^ Q ^ 
^0 ^*£Ua*9 t S J.Aaj.00 j^SJ I'fSO^O ^*V**o 

« « V V 0* 

" O O V £ 7 

w*jp o£u*j ]„^i_!^-^^ i-^-^? ]flj.AQ 



126 NOTES. 

■a V V « O D * o i 7 * 

.\ZL*y t 2iJ±> U4Q3 ^ It^^o an^a^ ^.-^L^s 

* 7 7 * £7 O . 7 7 

S ° 7 £> ,7 7 * 

"77 v o 

fjrii^Op^olo . [ }iu anmjo . T fU> ^i^> Za^ 

<? * V D 7 7 Offl O 

7 & a D ■<] \) * * v 

ot^a^ Jaj] V^o^o j~a S Sao ^oot.-^ q^q*£]o 

In the Time of Shith (Seih) when his Sons remembered the 
good Lives that (they led) in Paradeise, they went up to the 
Mount ofChermon ( Hermon), and lived in pure and holy Con- 
versations, abstaining from Matrimony, and from this they were 

called Angels and Sons of Elohim In the thousandth 

Yearoftne World, the Sons of Elohim descended from the Moan- 
tain of Chermon, about two hundred Souls, because they had 
castaway the Hope of a Return to Paradeise ; and when they 
asked Women in Marriage, their Brethren the Sons of Shith and 
Enosh despised them, and, as Transgressors against their Cove- 
nant, agreed to withold from them their Daughters. On this 
they departed to the Sons of Cain, and took Wives, and begat 
Gyants of name, chief y celebrated for Murther and Plunder. 
They set up for themselves the first King, a Man whose Name 
was Samiazus. The Arabic Chronicle published by Pococke 
p. 8, agrees almost Word for Word. 

O 7 

Without doubt the j aSU U. of the Jacobite Primate 

are the QV"^213 °^ ^ oses •' whether Gyants or Heroes, 

but certainly generally considered as Gyants, and this most 
likely gives the old Eastern Legend on the Subject, whence 
the Rest has grown. This Theory of the Origin of Orks, 



NOTES. 127 

Elves, Gyants, &c. appears to have been unknown to Csed- 
man, who gives the Progeny of Cain as it appears in Moses. 
See also Canto XXIV. note 3.* 



CANTO II. 

1 Erfiim ah?) grtae^ig. 

2 Dumum un-'-oyjine. 

3 ffiaBj- f se-pm z6 p rrian^ 
La$ *j long-pum. 

4 tUaep to pfep t on Sam. 

5 This and the following lines are to me very obscure, in 
the Original they stand thus, 

Da paep eaS-pynbe Then was easily found [by any 

one] 
De him ellep-hpasri Who would himself elsewhere 

Ire-rmmlicop. pisepre More comfortably Rest, 

Bet> reprepi burium A Bed in the Bowers (Chamb- 

ers) [than there] 
pa him ge-beacno^ p-aep. Where he was called [to keep 

guard] 
i. e. in the Hall. The substance of which is, that it was 
easy to find a safer Place to sleep than the Castle-hall. Mr. 
Kemble translates the Passage thus : " Since there was 
easily to be found, (that which elsewhere rested too much at 
large for him) beds throughout the bowers, there, whither 
he was beckoned : " which I do not understand. Dr. Ett- 
muller renders it : 

" Leicht war aumndbar dem, der anderswo 
Geraumlicher rastete, der Recken jedem 
Bett in dem Bauten, wenn ihm geboten ward." 

and adds as a note, " Die Danen nahmen nur ungern ihr 



* For farther Information on the subject of the Gyants 
and Semyaza, see the ^^(^^.lU^^TllhiX or Book of 
Enoch the Prophet, capp. vii. viii. ix. and x. i. e. pp. 5 — 11, 
of the Ethiopic Test edited by Abp. Lawrence, and prefixed 
to the Abp.'s English Version of this Work, which he pub- 
lished the same year (1838), there is an Introduction, in 
which the learned Editor and Translator expresses his 
Opinion that the Traditions of the Book of Enoch originated 
in the Jewish Zohar and other Cabbalistic Works. The 
Passages are however too long to extract. 



128 NOTES. 

Nachtlager in Heorot, wenn sie die Burgzu bewachen dahin 
enboten wurden, da sie an jedem anderen Orte mit grosserer 
Bequemlichkeit (geraumlicher) ruhten/' Dr. Grundtvig 
appears not to notice the passage. 

6 Feopih-bealo. 

7 ODen ne cunnon 
Jjpy^ep. hel-riunan 
£pyriprum pcjiibaS. 

8 Dapt:-bona. i. e. Odin. 

9 Fae'oejT.-pgebum. Surely the latter Portion of this Canto 
bears the stamp of Christian Authorship, too palpably to be 
mistaken. 



CANTO III. 

1 SeacS. Similar is the Expression in the Lines quoted by 
Cicero at the Opening of the De Senectute. 

O Tite, si quid ego adiuero curamve levasso', 
Quae nunc te coquit et versat in pectore fixa. 

2 Be6wulf the Hero of the Poem. 

3 On bsem "baeje 

pyrr e r % e r. 

4 Yb-liban, i. e. the Ship. The same is the meaning of 
Sun's-pu'ou, VJDudu-bunbenne and many other expressions 
that we shall meet with. Span-riabe. Swans-path, i. e. Sea. 

5 Strieamap punbon 
Sun's pij? panbe. 

6 Weders are the same as Geats. 

7 EruS-ge-paebo. 

8 £ine pyri-pyt bpsec. His Curiosity brake him down, 
i. e. overcame every other Feeling. 

9 Lagu-prjiae'te. 

10 Nepne him hip plire leoje 
^En-lic an-pyn. 

11 Opopr ip pelepr. 



CANTO IV. 



ttlorib-horib on-leac. 
GapeS bup.h ejpan. 
1 purih ptumne pepan. 
Bipi^u. 



NOTES. 129 

5 Se pe pel SenceS. 

6 UJutm puu'ben half. 

7 The Boar or Boar's-head was the Crest of the Helmet. 
This Animal was sacred to the Goddess Freya, and it's Image 
was considered as an Amulet in War and Defence to tiie 
Wearer's Life. See Kemble's Glossary in v. Goperi. 

8 ^ll'oe-^eori. 



CANTO V. 

' pearl's, honb-locen. 

2 Song. 

3 In hyria gpLypie-gea'cpum. 

4 Byrinan hpangbon. Mr. Kemble renders this : They 
placed in a ring their mail-coats: making a Word hriingian, 
In circulo disponere. I think we may render it : Their byrnies 
rang : from the Verb brungan. 

5 Irien-Sriea'c. 

6 Da hasp, plonc hsele<5 Then there a proud Warriour 
Opet-mecjap The Son s-of- battle 
iEprephaelepumppasgn. Concerning the Heroes ask- 
ed i. e. asked them concerning themselves. 

7 j^eapb unbep helme. 

8 lllopb aeptep pppasc. 

9 Spa Su bena earir and again presently ^y bena pynt. 

10 Opep geopenep be-gang, the vypd K&XtvOa of Ho- 
mer. 



CANTO VI. 

1 Dast he bpittigep 
GDanna maggen-cpaepr 
Oil hip munb-gpipe 
£eabo-p.6p haebbe. 

2 Two Lines something to this Effect seem here to be omit- 
ted, the second whereof might perhaps be UOulp-gap maSe- 
lobe. 

3 Sce-pylmap. The Sea-boilings, Heats. 

4 ^eapb-hicgen'be. 

5 Neapo-peappe 'bpeah. 

6 Xc ic nub gpape pceal 
Ton pr<5 peon^e. 

Xn"b ymb peoph paean 
La<5 picS la<5um. 

S 



130 NOTES. 

7 GDearicaS pen-hupu. 

8 A warrior's Heriot, i. e. his Horse and Arms, were on 
his Death the Property of his Lord. 

9 The Account of the celebrated Weland, or Volundr, may 
he found in the Vb'lundar Quida of the Edda Saemundar, and 
in the Wilkina Saga c. xxi. et seq. Weland and his two 
Brethren lived in Sweeden. One day beside a Lake they 
met three Ladies whom they took home and married. The 
Ladies, being Waelcyrian, flew away one Morning. The two 
Brethren set out in search of their Wives, but Weland staid 
at home and practised his Art. Nidung a King in Sweeden 
had him seized, the Sinews of his Legs cut (so as to render 
him unable to take active Revenge), and confined him on 
an Island there to labour for his Oppressor. He however 
murthered the King's Sons, and seduced his Daughter 
Bbdvildr. There was at that Time a celebrated Smith, 
Aroilias, who challenged Weland to a Trial of Skill. Amilias 
forged a Suit of Mail, and Weland fabricated the Sword 
Miming, wherewith he cut a thread of Wool lying on the 
Water; but not satisfied with it, he reforged it, and it then 
cut through the whole Ball of floating Wool. Being still 
dissatisfied, he again committed it to the Flames, and at the 
End of seven Weeks produced so excellent a Weapon, that 
it cut through a whole Bundle of Wool floating in Water. 
Amilias, trusting to his Armour, sat down on a Stool, and 
hade Weland strike him. Weland did so, and there being 
no apparent Effect, asked Amilias what the Sensation was. 
Amilias said it was as though cold Water had passed through 
his Bowels, on which Weland bade him shake himself. On 
doing so the Effect of the blow was apparent ; he fell dead 
in two pieces. The Fame of Weland is not yet extinct, he 
yet lives in the Superstitions relative to Way land Smith. See 
also Grimm. Heldensage, p. 14, 20.' and Teut. Mythol. 221. 



CANTO VII. 

1 Da hme ^aria cyn 
Fop. herie-bjiu^an 
jDabban ne mihre. 

2 pojib-burih hjeleba. 

J Opep. paereriep hjiycg. This is exactly analogous to 
the Homeric Expression 'Ett' avpea vwra OaXacrafjc. 

4 Done ^ol-pcaban "oaVfca ge-^p&pan, i. e. take his Life. 

5 Oper-mec^ap beojie briunone. The Anglo Saxon 



NOTES. 131 

Word briuncen does not seem always to have the opprobri- 
ous Meaning of the English Word Drunken, but merely implies 
the Notion of social Gaiety at Table. A parallel case is 
the Hebrew word ""j^^'. Thus when in Gen. xliii. 33. it 

is said concerning Joseph's brethren ♦ s )Qy r )D^" , ^Jltp^l 

it can hardly mean that " they drank and were drunken 
with him," but simply drank and made merry with him. 
6 ^eorio-^jieorie. 



CANTO VIII. 

1 On-banb beat>o-p.une. 

2 CDgeron merie-prriae'ta. 

3 The Words £>p.6n-pix the Whale-fish, CDepe-pix Sea- 
fish, or ODep.e-'beop. Sea-beast, &c. are often used. " These 
Creatures in Beowulf are more like the Seals of our popular 
Superstitions. They are the Enemies of Man, and looked 
upon as possessing Intellect and Mariners which bear a Re- 
semblance to our own." Kemble Glos. in v. pipe. 

4 J}earit> hon'b-locen. 



CANTO IX. 

1 De6p.au ppeopbe. 

2 Speoribum a-ppepebe be yp.-lape. On the wave- 
leaving, i. e. on the Shore where the Wave leaves what it 
casts up, as Seaweed, Sheels, &c. 

3 In the Edda Seem. (Brynbildar-quida, 1. xv. In Grimm's 
Edit. 16.) the Sun is called the Shield that stendr fur skin- 
anda gobi, that stands before the sbiaing God. 

4 UJinbige peallap. 

5 The Intervention of a personal Fate, tOypi'b, was still 
evidently Matter of Belief. In a Note upon Saxo (p. 15) 
in Stepbanius. Notse uberiores p. 52, Bishop Brynholm says: 
" Fatum universus Septentrio et Stoicam de necessitate opi- 
nionem, magno affirmavit consensu ; contra quam nee res, 
nee consilium, nee humana virtus ulla, quicquam posset. 
Hinc adeo omnium heroum in extremis vitae periculis, una- 
nimis vox erat, quae presentem statum solaretur. Ei ma 

feigum forda, nie ofeigum i hel koma ; i. e. nee qui morti 



I3& NOTES. 

destinatus est fugere, nee non destinatus morti adduci po- 
test." See many Expressions of a like Tendency in Olaf 
Tryggveson's Saga and other Places, and again Canto xxx. 
p. 83, and xxxii. p. 88, and other Passages of this Poem. 

6 Billa bfiujan. 

7 Deah -Sin pir buge. 

8 Spepe<5, onb-pen^ecS. 

9 These Lines, Mr. Kemble thinks, go to confirm the 
View we have taken of the Poem, as not of Saxon but Angle 
or Geatic Origin, as Ethelwulf was the first West Saxon 
King, (and the other Saxon Tribes he (thinks would in all 
Probability have the same Custom) who allowed his Queen 
Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, to sit beside him on 
the Throne, and that was ig, the ninth Century. Asser tells 

the Tale thus. " Sed ille Juditham Karoli regis 

filiam, quam a patre suo acceperat, juxta se in regali solio 
suo, sine aliqua suorum nobilium controversia et odio, usque 
ad obitum vitfe suaa, contra perversam illius gentis consue- 
tudinem, sedere imperavit." Asser. p. 9. 10. 11. But when 
we consider the Origin of the Custom alluded to, and that 
it dated no farther back than the Reign of Beohtric Ethel- 
wulf 's Grandfather, who died A.O. 800, it will not seem 
probable that it was the Custom of all the Saxon Tribes. 
The Custom originated in the Hatred of the West Saxons to 
the wicked Queen Eadburh, wife of Beorhtric, as Asser 
states on the Authority of iElfred himself. The Crime which 
caused her to be driven out of England, was the Murther of 
her Husband. She had prepared Poison for a young Noble- 
man, to whom the King was much attached, (and who in 
the Saxon Chronicle is called Worr) and against whom she 
could get no Grounds for an Accusation. The King, as well 
as the Youth, drinking of the poisoned Fluid, both fell Vic- 
tims; the indignant People drave Eadbuhr from the Coun- 
try, and determined that no one thenceforth should either 
bear the Name of Queen, or occupy a Royal Throne by the 
Side of their King. See Asser as cited above. Spelman's 
Alfred, p. 7. Turner's Anglo Saxons, ii. 241, 497. Add 
to this that Asser expressly says the Custom was contrary 
to that of the other Teutonic Nations, ultra morem omnium, 
id est, gentium Theotiscarum. Still, though Mr. K's View 
does not receive any Confirmation from this, yet I think, as 
I said in the introduction, there can be little doubt of its 
Accuracy. 

10 Sige-polca fpeg. 

11 Scaou-helma ge-pceapu, the form of Shadow coverings. 



NOTES. 133 

Form seems here to be used in its scholastic Sense, of, " that 
which constitutes anything what it is." 

12 Ne bib be- pilna ja'b. There shall be to thee no Goad 
of Desires, i. e.no Desire unsatisfied to give you Uneasiness. 



CANTO X. 

1 GDetobep hylbo. The Creators Grace, or Gift of Grace, 
rather the Greek ^apicrjua than x^P l S- 

2 Ijaena cyfc. 

3 Dup-ge-peoptca. 

4 Nar he pajia 56b a. The Text appears here, as Mr. 
Kemble observes, very corrupt and unintelligible. I have 
therefore ventured to read pone Dob. Ettmiiller renders 
it, " Nicht kennt er der Guten Brauch," the Custom of the 
Good ones, i.e. of Heroes. But there is no Word for 
" Custom" in the Text, and moreover, if there were, this 
would require the definite form of the Adjective pap.a 36- 
bena. Dr. Grundtvig omits the Clause entirely. 

5 TEig-ppe^ba ^e-piupu. A singular Expression, and 
analogous to the Classical Notion of the Thread of Fate. 
It looks much as if the Wadcyrian were in the Writer's 
Mind. See Grimm. Teut. Mythol. p. 229 et seq. . 

6 Sca'bu-genga. 

CANTO XL 

1 Un'seri mipr bleo'bum. Under Cover of 31 ist. 

2 Recedep muban. 
y Un-prejep.. 

4 Ban-locan. Compare the Manner of disposing of Hu- 
man Prey employed by the Witch in St. Olaf 's Saga, Chap- 
ter 137. 

5 8yn-pna?bum. 

6 Secan beopla ge-'bnae;*;. 

7 J>eapo-be6p.um. Deupt is a wild Beast, whence the 
Eng. Deer. Jjeapo-beori, pilbe-'beop., and similar Ex- 
pressions are constantly found in Anglo Saxon Poetry for 
" a Warriour." Similarly in Hebrew is used the Word 
nnK " a Lyon.'^ 

8 The Iron-bands may perhaps have been to secure the 
Vaulting, for the Building was horin-jeap, Vaulted and 



134 NOTES. 

Pinnacled, whence we may see that the Poem is not anteri- 
our to the Introduction into this Country of the Knowledge 
of constructing the Arch and loading the Points of Thrust 
with Pinnacles. And again in Canto xxv. p. 69, it would 
seem the System of vaulting Chambers, and gilding the 
Bosses of the Pubs was in Vogue. 
9 Nymbe hgep paeSm 
Spulge on fpabule. 

10 s pes up a-prag 
Nipe ge-neahhe. 

11 Dalan pige-Ieapne pang. 

12 nrryp.e-le6$ 

13 On baem baege 
Diy^ey lipep. 

14 £eIJe-haepic on-he6r». Mr. Kemble considers that in 
a Poem of the Age of this one hel may be rendered Death, 
as the Icelandic " hel, helia." He also proposes to read 
helle-hariptum which undoubtedly construes more naturally, 
but perhaps the double Accusation " held him a Death-hold" 
is admissible. 



CANTO XII. 

1 Ne hip hp-fc>agap 
Eeo^a eemgum 
jSy-cte- ceal"De. 

2 Dasp. hie meahton ppa. 

3 The Gyants of Romance are often invulnerable by and 
seldom use the Sword. Grimm says (Teut. Mythol. 306.) 
Steine und Felsen sind des Riesengeschlects Waffen ; es 
gebraucht nur Steinkeulen, Steinschilde, keine Schwerter. 
Hrungnis Waffe heisst Hem ; als sie geworfen in der Luft 
mit Thors Hammer zusammenfuhr, brach sie und ein Theil 

fielzuBoden: davon kommen alle " Heinberg" (Schleifstein- 
felsen) her. Sn. 108, 109. Spatere Sagen legen den Riesen 
Stahlstangen, von 24 Ellen, zu. Roth. 687, 1662, hiirn. 
Sifr. 62, 2. 68, 2. Sigen6t (Lassb.) 14. (Hag.) 69,75. 
Iwein 5022 (Ruote 5058. Kolbe 6682, 6726.) Trist. 15980, 
16146 : Isenstange Aib. 460, i. dem Pandurus und Bitias 
(Aen. 9, 672) verleiht Veldek Riesennatur und iserni Kol- 
ven (En. 7089); Kolben Stahelin fuhrt das riesige Heer 
Kbnig Gorhands. Wh. 35, 21, 395, 24, 396, 13 : eine Staal- 
stang Riese Langben (danske viser 1, 29.) Wahrscheinlich 
aber wird unter dem " eald sweord eotensic." Beow. 5953 
ein steinernes verstanden; audi der " entisc helm" Beow. 



NOTES. 135 

5955 mag em soldier sein. Vielleicht hangt damit zusam- 
men, dasz kein Eisenschwert auf die Riesen einschneidet : 
bloss mit dem Schwertknopf mdgen sie erschlagen werden. 
(Ecke 178). The Gyant Slaves of Palmund however in 
Book ii. of the Heldenbuch had Swords as well as iron Poles : 
and Wolfdietrich generally employs his Sword against Gyants 
as well as other Opponents. Weapons were made of Stone 
in the very earliest Ages previous to the Discovery of work- 
ing in Metal. A large Collection of Stone Weapons and 
Tools may be seen in the Museium at Christianborg Slot in 
Copenhagen. 

4 On baem feseje 
Dir*r-ep lip ef. 

5 Although in the Original Text the Alliteration is per- 
fect, so that the Prosody betrays no Lacuna, yet the Sense 
being incomplete indicates the Loss of two or more Lines. 
I have merely filled up the Lacuna as the Tale seemed to 
warrant, without Regard to any critical Conjecture as to what 
may be the lost Words, which there is nothing to guide us 
in determining. 



CANTO XIII. 



1 CDine ^e-priaege. 

2 Lip-ge-bal. 

3 Feofih-laftaf. 

4 peorio-bjieujie peol. 

* pel. Here again as at Note 14, Canto xi. Hell would 
seem to mean Death or the Condition of the Dead. Parallel 
are the Hebrew ^^^ and the Greek 'Aidrjg. 

6 I have used this Orthography, which is consonant with 
the Icelandic, in preference to the Anglo-Saxon Form Sige- 
mund, in order that People may not mispronounce the Name, 
as if it sounded Sigh-jee-mund. For the Legends relative 
to Sigmund see the Introduction. 

7 It is possible that "Eotens" here may mean Frisians, 
but I think the ordinary meaning of the Word, as those fear- 
ful fabulous Beings, in which sense we have it so frequently 
in this Poem, is more probable. " The dark and shadowy 
beings," says Mr. Kemble, " of the under-world, (Niflungar, 
contrasted so ably by Lachmann, in his remarks upon the 
Nibelungen Lied, with the Vdlsungar or race of Splendour), 
would be very well represented by the Name Eotenas. 



136 NOTES. 

8 Unwept Impure f tan. So the Nibelungen Lied, 842, 2. 

Do er den lintdrachen an den berge sluoc. 

9 On pealle. As this makes no sense, I have ventured 
to read peale. 

10 Dpiiht-Iic ipien. 

11 According to the Ed da and Vols. Sag. he carried away 
the Treasure on his Horse Grani. 

12 I have no Idea to what Events Reference is here made 
by the Poet. According to every Account that I know of, 
Siegfried was murthered in the very fullest Bloom of Glory 
and Fortune. But possibly in the Poet's Mind Sigmund may 
have been identified with the unfortunate Sigmund King of 
Burgundy whose Death is related by S. Greg. Tur. iii. 6. 

13 This is a very obscure Passage, I cannot explain it. 

14 W. Grimm. (Heldensage, p. 16) considers the Crimes 
here referred to are those of Sigmundr and Sinfibtli in their 
Character as Werewolves, noticed in the Introduction. Beo- 
wulf's Achievements being as great as those of Sigmund, and 
his Character as a true and gentle Knight quite unsullied, 
his Fame was of a higher grade than even Sigmund's. 

15 Op briy v D-bupie. It may perhaps be necessary to re- 
mind some Readers, that Bower, in the Poetry and Romance 
of the Middle Ages, means a Chamber, so that a " Ladyes 
Bower," is what we should call a " Boudoir." 



CANTO XIV. 

1 Dupih Druhtnep miht. 

2 Ne bi$ %e aemgjia gab 
tDopiulbe pilna. See Canto ix, n. 12. 

3 This is a very singular Metaphor. 
Xc hyne pap. hapaS 

In miVgfiipe 
tfeapipe be-pongen 
Bealp on benbum. 
* Style ge-licopt 
^aepenep hono-ppopm. 



CANTO XV. 

Xc ^e-pecean pceal 

Sapl-bepienbpia (pum). 

Nybe ge-Tiy&eb 

Nijjfca [I read niba] beapina. 



NOTES. 137 

Djiun'fc-buenbp.a, 

Deafipe prope, 

Daepi hip ]ic-homa. 

Lejeji-beboe pcepr, 

Spepe<5 agpreri pymle. 
" But each of the soul-bearers (i. e. each man) of the sons 
of Wickedness, inhabiting the Earth, shall, forced by neces- 
sity, seek the ready Place (i. e. Hell), where his Body, on 
Death-bed fast, sleepeth after Banquet." This is so inco- 
herent and unintelligible, that I believe the Passage to be 
very corrupt. Mr. Kemble considers it an Interpolation. 
Dr. Grundtvig renders it thus : 

Maerke liver, at skjondt i Slag 

Times let Ulaempe, 
Det dog er en tvungen Sag, 

For hver aerlig Ksempe. 
Naar ban gaaer fra Mjbd og Viin, 

Krogen, trods al Fare, 
Hvor ban hviler Kroppen sin 

Mandig at forsvare ! p. 93. 

But can this by any possibility be extracted from the 
Anglo-Saxon Words ? And, if it could, is it much more intel- 
ligible? Ettmiiller's Version gives a close Translation of the 
Original, with all its Obscurity. He however states in his 
note that the Passage is evidently interpolated. Prof. Leo 
does not mention it in his Uebersicht. Schaldemose is not 
more intelligible. 

2 Dr. Thorkelin supposes Hrothwulf to be Be6wulf. But 
this is quite inadmissible. In all Probability he is Rulf 
Kraki, Nephew to Hrothgar, and Son of Halga til (Halga or 
Helgi the good) mentioned in Canto I. (v. 122. K.) It is 
true Halga and Hrothwulf do not seem to correspond very 
well with Helgi ana Hrolfr except in the Names : but the 
Legends in Langbek are irreconcileably contradictory. 

3 Fela-lap pcuri-heafi't>. 

4 See Canto IV. note 7. 

5 Hib-cupep pig. 

6 tthcga ant) psepna. 



CANTO XVI. 

1 Paid the pepie or sum at which the Hero's Life was 
reckoned. Among the old Teutonic Nations, (and still in 
some of the German States,) every man was valued at a 
T 



138 NOTES. 

certain Sum, according to bis Rank, called in Anglo Saxon 
his Were (pepie), and whoever took his Life was punished 
by having to pay this Were. Hr6tbgar orders the Were of 
the Hero who had been slain in his Service to be paid to bis 
Companions. 

2 Uhrig D6t> pyp.*t). The wise God, Fate. 

3 The Eotens here must I think mean the Frisians. 

4 The Saxon Word J^ohnga some Critics have manufac- 
tured into a Lady, and joined to Hnsef by the Sacrament of 
Marriage; but it means in vain. Kem. p. 256. 

6 See Canto IV. n. 7. 

7 Every Commentator seems to consider this as the Sa- 
crifice of a living Son of Hiideburh : but I cannot but think 
the youth was dead already, as Hildeburh's Brethren and 
Children fell in the Battle, and that it was only his dead 
Body that was burned on Hneef 's funeral Pyre. Whether 
the ^thelings, mentioned a few lines before, had been, 
" awarded by wounds to Fate" in the Battle, or were so 
treated in honour of the Dead, is more than I can say, but 
the latter supposition seems best borne out by the Fact of 
their falling on the Corse. 

8 Mounted, i. e. was carried, unless the Warriour men- 
tioned be the Person who bare the Youth's Corse on his 
Shoulder. 

9 Ben-gearo, laS-bite Keep. 

10 Dapta gippiopr. 



CANTO XVII. 

1 Jsirce-leoman. 

2 Dolt>-pme gumena. 

3 Umbopi-pepenbum aepi. I am unable to inform the 
Reader to what Events the Poet alludes. 



CANTO XVIII. 

1 The Br6sings' Collar. This is the Brisinga-men of the 
Edda (Thryms-quida xiii, xv.) the famous Necklace of 
Freya, which was stolen by Loki and thrown into the Sea, 
but recovered by Heimdallr. Professor Finn Magnusen in 
the Lexicon Mythologicum, gives an Account of it whence 
I extract the following Particulars. See also Krbningfsvard's 
Sago-Bibliothek, Vol. i. p. 67. JN T o second Volume was 



NOTES. 139 

published. The iEser lived in the Asiatic Cities of Asgard, 
with Odin for their King. Freya the Daughter of Niordr 
followed Odin and was his Concubine. Four Dwarfs, who 
were very cunniug Artificers in Metals resided not far from 
the Palace, and the Dwarfs then mixed much more with the 
human Race (to which Race the Author of the Saga Olafs 
Tryggv., whence this is taken, considered Odin and the 
./Esir as belonging) than latterly. Freya one Day entering 
their Cave saw them making a most splendid Necklace, and 
wished to purchase it. But at no other Price would they 
part with it than her Company to each of them for one 
Night. On these Terms she had it. The names of the four 
Dwarfs were Alfrikr (the Elberich of the Heldenbach and 
Nibelungen Lied), Grer, Berlingr, and Dvalinn. See the 
Explanation of the Fable in Lex. Mythol. See also Grimm. 
Teut. Mythol. p. 194-5. How it came into Hermanaric's 
Hands I do not know. The Hama of the Passage, is the 
Heime of the Middle Age German Poems, always associated 
with Wittich. (Wudga or Vidga and Hama). The story 
of Hermanaric's Death is given by Jornandes, who says, 
" Ermanaricus rex Gothorum, licet multarum gentium exti- 
terit triumphator, Roxolanorum gens infida, quas tunc inter 
alias illi famulatum exhibebat, tali eum nanciscitur occasione 
decipere. Dum enim quandum mulierem Sanielh nomine 
ex gente memorata, pro mariti fraudulento discessu, rex fu- 
rore commotus equis ferocibus illigatam, incitatisque cursi- 
bus, per diversa divelli praecepisset, fratres ejus Sarus et 
Ammius, germanae obitum vindicantes, Ermanarici latus 
ferro petierunt, &c. c. 24. (Muratori vol. i.) Gibbon, who 
in c. xxvi. gives the Tale from Ammianus, says the Gothic 
King languished a considerable Time after his Wound, while 
the Wilkina Saga c. ccclxxiv. represents him as dying from 
an unskilful Operation for what seems to have been a kind 
of Rupture. 

2 Opep. y]?a pul. 

3 Uhn'm^e e arts -peal lap . 

4 Dpuncne. Vid. Canto vii. note 5. 

5 Fate again personified. 



CANTO XIX. 

1 The MS. reads camp, but Mr. Kemble's Conjecture Cam 
is doubtless right. 

2 peorto-peap.li. 

3 Ehppe and galga-mofc. 



140 NOTES. 



CANTO XX. 



1 fflsel-gaepr pseprie. I have not scrupled in several 
Instances to accent ^sepr Guest stranger where Mr. Kemble 
has left it unaccented, and so to make it gaept (= gapr) 
Ghost or Spirit, (this Orthography being used in the Codex 
Exon. and other Places,) as I think it renders a stronger and 
better sense than the unaccented Word. 

2 In the Change of Gender here I have followed the 
Original. 

3 The popular Superstitions relative to the Lake on Monte 
Pilato near Luzern will probably occur to the Reader's Mind. 
Vid. Beattie's Switzerland Illust. Another is described in 
Leibnitz Script. Br. i. 932. It is on a Mountain in Cata- 
lonia, in cujus summitate lacus est, aquam continens subni- 
gram, et in fundo imperscrutabilem : Illic naansio fertur esse 
daemonum, ad modum palatii dilatata, et janua clausa : facies 
tamen ipsius mansionis, sicut ipsorum daemonum, vulgaribus 
est incognita et invisibilis. In lacum si quis aliquam lapi- 
deam, aut aliam solidam projecerit materiem, statim, tan- 
quam offensis daemonibus, tempestas, erumpit. Cited by 
Kemble. 

4 OS Saer lypr ^piypmaS. 



CANTO XXI. 



Ban-c6pan. 
! Biran. Vid. Canto iv. n. 7. 



CANTO XXII. 

1 Galbe lape TOriaet-lic pee^-ppeori^ .... £eap^ ecg. 
At what Period the waved or flaming-bladed Swords first 
came into use I am unable to say, but perhaps the Decision 
of that Question might somewhat help us in assigning a 
Date to this Poem. The earliest Weapon of the Sort that 
I have seen is in the Museum at- Copenhagen, but its date 
is not earlier than the Age of Canute the Great. 

2 ^pil-bfegep. 

3 LeoS-pypcan. A Hawberk forged to magical Chaunts. 

4 p&t. he niS-pele 



NOTES. 141 



Nat hpilcum paep. 

5 Driuntj-pyrigenne. 

6 ^rung-mael a-^ol 
EpiaVsij gu^-leoS. 

7 Brians bjiun-ecg. 

8 ^ejie-ner heari^e. 

9 Y$e-lice SySSan he epr a-pt6fc>. 



CANTO XXIII. 

1 Roboriep canbel. 

2 £ilt>e pcelum. 

3 On-pint>e$ gaig-riapap. 

4 UJaep beet blo'D to Seep hat 
JEttrien ellen-siept. 

5 Ms h ny>& rp a pna. 

6 With, it seems, the Female-Daemon's Head in it. 



CANTO XXIV. 

1 Da me paM a-^eal^. 

2 fljunt>ofi-pmi'Sa je-peoric. 

3 Here the Poet seems in all probability to have confound- 
ed some Heatben Myth about tbe Wars of the Gods and 
the Gyants with the Notice of the QV^tp]) in the Holy 

Scriptures. The passage no doubt in his Mind is that in the 
Book of Wisdom, xiv. 6. Kai apxnQ y«P? airoWvfxkvhJV 
vTreprj^dvcov yiydvTwv, 1) eKirig rov /coc/zou iiri cx^icig 
KarcKpvyovcra, a.7re\i7rev cliuivl airkpua yevkatuiQ ry <ry kv- 
(3tpvr)6ucra %etpi. Probably the Bible was known to him 
only in the Vulgate, which, like the Greek, wherethrough 
alone unfortunately this Book is known to us, has " Gigantes," 
(though the Original probably was QV-Q'O) aD( * t ' lus ^ e 

came to consider the Heathen Myth as an historical Illustra- 
tion of the inspired Text. 

4 On basm pcenne. 

3 Daat Sep eop.1 paerie 
Ee-borien betejia. 

6 " Dieser Heremod, Ecgwela's Sohn (Ich lese eaporia 
statt eaporian, weil sonst die Skildinge Ecgwela's Nachkom- 
men genannt waren) herrschte grausam iiber einen Theil 
der Danen." Ettmiiller. In spite of this however I have 



142 NOTES. 

ventured to preserve the old Reading : for I think without 
Doubt the Descendants of Ecgwela are the Scyldings, and 
that Ecgwela is but the Hwala of the Genealogy given in 
the Introduction p. xxi, and is thus not Heremod's Father, 
but Great-Grandfather. 

7 Ic bip 31b be <Se 
X'-pjisec pmtpum ppu'"b. 

8 puph pfbne pepan. 



CANTO XXV. 



Hear un-ge-metep pel 
Rupne pan'b-pigan 
Reptan lypte. 
ColIen-peph<5. 
Le6p-hc irien. 



CANTO XXVI. 

Opep janotep basb, i. e. the Sea. 
Bfie6pr-pylm. 
fjyje-ben'bum paepr. 
! Beopn pi% blo'be. 



CANTO XXVII. 

1 LeoSo-pypcan. 

2 SjE-geap. 

3 GQepe- bpaegla pum. 

4 Stmb-pubu and pce-jen^a, next line but one, both mean 
Ship. 

5 tOubu-pmpuman. 

6 NcBnig bser ^boppre 
De6p je-neban. 

' Opep pealone plob. 

8 Lip je-pceapta. 

9 ODine ge-ppce^e. 



NOTES. 143 

CANTO XXVIII. 

1 Safe-pong. 

2 lEojrul s t>-can ,- Del. 

3 Sorih-pylmum peab. 

4 IBael-goepr. 

5 Bon-gap. bugeb. 

6 DuguSa bi-penebe. 1 Read bi-bene'se, and render : 
' Girt with Heroes." 



CANTO XXIX. 

1 Cantos XXVIII, XXIX and XXX, are not separated in 
tbe MS. the Separation here is as in Mr. Kemble's Edition. 

2 Dyjie frien. 

3 Foemnan begn, Tbe Regent for tbe Time being with tbe 
Queen, as it seems, a Son of Hrotbgar. Ettmnller in loco. 
1 imagine however it is merely the Lady's Husband, a Youth 
no doubt of Hrothgar's Family, probably a Son. 

4 JEyiX billep bite. 

5 j^on^-pcio. Thorpe and Grundtvig look upon Hondscio 
as the Name of a Hero slain by Grendel : and Thorpe there- 
fore reads ou-peegt> sacrificed. I quite agree with Mr. Kem- 
ble in the Opinion that it is Grendel's Gauntlet and not anv 
Person that is spoken of. Dr. Grundtvig renders the Fas- 
sage thus : 

Handske her den lede Trold 
Ncermest laae for Haanden ; 
I bans Kloer den Ksempe bold 

Faldt og opgav Aanden. P. 185-6. 

Ettmiiller renders the Word rightly " die Gaufe." 

6 Blo'sig-'toS. 

7 De6ri ^sab-ppiuma. 



CANTO XXX. 

1 Ir6men-pu v t>u gpiette. 

2 Deab-periigne. 

3 Xn'c ic heap^e be-ceapip. And 1 abridged, shorten- 
ed or cropped of her Head. 



144 NOTES. 



CANTO XXXI. 



1 ^Eppel-pealupe, apple-grey. Motherw. Minstrelsy, 
237, Dapple-grey. 

2 ^onb-ge-ptellan.' 

3 lDun"buri-mapm. 

4 J>ilbe-be6p.. 

;5 Tyri-ea'bigum men 
Torma ge-hpylcep. 

6 |3ea<5o-pi6p cymng. 

7 Seopon bupen'bo. Seven Thousands. Among the 
Anglo-Saxons ten tunap (Vills) made on teo'Smg (Tyth- 
ing), ten "ceuSin^e one hunbpte'b (Hundred) and a certain 
IS 1 umber of hun k Dp.e v bu a pcypte (Sbire). Probably the 
Tbousands pupenbo bere spoken of mean each ten such 
Hundreds hunbp.e'bu; and I have therefore added the 
Word " Vills' 7 to make it intelligible to the ordinary Reader. 

8 ]S T i<5a ge-hnaeg'bon. 

9 The old Teutonic Dragons were generally Treasure - 
keepers. 

10 The two-dozen Lines from here to the other mark (*) 
cannot be called Translation. The Manuscript is there so 
ruined that only a few Words here and there can be deci- 
phered. Putting together these few Words, and connecting 
them by means of Allusions occurring in the subsequent 
Part of the Poem, I have woven together the fragments, so 
as to conceal, so far as the Thread of the Story is concerned, 
the Appearance of a Lacuna, though to attempt by critical 
Conjecture to supply what is lost of the Anglo-Saxon Text 
would of course be mere childish Vanity. But for the Con- 
venience of those who wish to know, without consulting the 
Original, what is really legible in the Manuscript, and what 
is merely put in by me as " Ripieno," I have distinguished 
the latter by inclosing it in Brackets thus [ ]. 



CANTO XXXII. 

1 7Tnb <5aeji-inne peal Perhaps Xnb baept inne 

pealle. 

2 A Lacuna of three Verses, without a Letter to guide one. 

3 Deorie mabmar. 

4 Feopih-bealo priecne. 



NOTES. 145 



5 Du;$uc5 bi$ elloji-p e6c. 

6 C-omen gleo-beamep. Harp. 

7 Seel. I have ventured to read Sal. 
s Bealo-cpealm hapab 

Fela peopih-cynna 
FeoriS on-penbeb. 
9 jDorib-pynne. 

10 Gal^ uht-pceaSa. 

11 A Lacuna of two-and-a-half Verses. 

12 Ne bi$ him pihte be pel. 

13 Sum. 

14 Stone Sa septepi ptane. 

15 ^eah-je-ptjieoaa. 
13 Beopigep hypibe. 
17 UJyrime on pillan. 



CANTO XXXIII. 



1 Lypr-plo^a. At the Beginning of the 2nd Book of 
Saxo, (fob 11. b. Edit. Paris 1514) is the following Descrip- 
tion of a Dragon, and Recipe for tackling him. 

Insula non longe est prEemollibus edita clivis, 
Collibus serategens, et opimee conscia prgedas, 
Hie tenet eximium montis possessor acervum, 
Implicitus gyris serpens, crebrisque reflexus 
Orbibus, et caudas sinuosa volumina ducens, 
Multiplicesque agitans spiras, virusque profundens. 
Quern superare volens, clypeo, quo convenit uti, 
Taurinas intende cutes, corpusque bovinis 
Tergoribus tegito, nee amaro nuda veneno 
Membra patere sinas ; sanies, quod conspuit, urit. 
Lingua trisulca micans patulo licet ore resultet, 
Tristiaque horrifico minitetur vulnera rictu, 
Intrepidum mentis habitum retinere memento, 
Nee te permoveat spinosi dentis acumen, 
Nee rigor aut rapida jactatum fauce venenum. 
Tela licet temnat vis squamea, ventre sub imo 
Esse locum scito, quo ferrum mergere fas est ; 
Hunc mucrone petens medium rimaberis anguem, 
Hinc montem securus adi, pressoque ligone, 
Perfossos scrutare cavos, mox aere crumenas 
Imbue, completamque reduc ad littora puppim. 
By following this Recipe Frotho kills the Dragon, as also 
in Book vi. (fol. 54. b.) Fridlev does another Dragon by the 
U 



146 NOTES. 

same Process perfossa inguinis parte. The Dragon Scha- 
desan, slain by VVolfdietrich (Heldenbuch Book ii. pt. 2. 
Adv. viii. See Weber Ulust. North. Antiq. p. 121), had a 
Head of a homy Consistence, his Shoulders were two Ells in 
Width, and he had also four-and-twenty Legs. 

2 Dup-pcea£>a. 

3 UJealbenbe. 

4 Laen-baga. Mr. Kemble's Reading. 

5 prunsa-pengel. 

6 UJiVplogan. 

7 piojio-^runcum ppealr. 
s Sunti-nyrte 'fcpieah. 

9 There is a small Lacuna, and the Text is probably 
corrupt. 

10 SioleSa hi-gong, i. e. the Sea. 

11 Speojiber- ppengum. 



CANTO XXXIV. 

1 Srepte. 

2 Cealfcum ceaja-pipum, i. e. Death. " Him" refers to 
Eadgils. 

3 NfX-heari't). 

4 j3eori<5-£e-nearum. 

5 UUael-pup. 

6 ffiypib un-je-mete neah. 

7 Saple-hojiD. 

8 Flaepce be-punben. 

9 J^oria-bogan. 

10 Dset hip bypie pii^e 
Diong on galgan. 

The Death of a Relation, even if accidental, must be 
avenged or atoned for by a Compensation. Hence the Ang. 
Sax. legal Phrase ; Let him buy or bear the Spear, i. e. Let 
him indure or buy off the Feud. This was the Case through- 
out the Teutonic Nations even in the Time of Tacitus, and 
the old Teutonic Law rests on it as a Principle. Hrethel as 
the Mundbora or legal Guardian of his Son was bounden to 
exact Satisfaction. Why a Satisfaction in Money could not 
be accepted I do not understand, since all that we know of 
the old Teutonic Law seems to indicate the Reverse. A 
bloody Satisfaction however Hrethel's fatherly Love for his 
Son would not allow him to take. 

11 Sopih-ceariij. 



NOTES. 147 

12 ffimb-^e-fiefre. 

13 InhoSman. Hades the Region of the Dead. Darkness. 
See the Address to Our Lord in the Codex. Exon. p. 3. 
1.32. 



CANTO XXXV. 

1 The Anglo-Saxons used the verb ceupan in a singular 
Manner in Phrases denoting Death, thus ceopan ecne jife^o 
to choose the everlasting Counsel, ceopan bad to choose the Pyre 
&c. signify to die. 

2 There seems to be here a Lacuna of some Extent, but 
as there is no Indication of it in the MS. nor does the Metre 
betray it, I have only marked it by a few dots. 

3 Dseg-hriaspne. 

4 Xc him hil'oe griap 
_^eoritan pylmap, 
Ban-hup ge-briaec. 

5 CDan-pceacSa. 

6 Eub-plogan. 

7 Feopih-bealu. 

8 Stpiengo ge-tpiupode 
Xnep mannep, 

Ne bi$ ppylc earigep yi$. 

9 I read J3ilbe-hlemman. 

10 Jjea<5o-pypium. 

11 phx. hiltoe-ppar. 

12 prim^-bo^an. ^ 

13 Gcjum un-gleap. 

14 ^ll^e-leoma. 

15 panVge-prellan. 

16 Jjil^e-cyptum. 



CANTO XXXVI. 

1 Leup-lic. 

2 DuS-^e-psefeu 
Fyrib-peapio pup-lie. 

3 ne-mealr. 

4 Dse'oa bol-licpia. 

5 Daet minne lie-ham an 
ODi't) minne gol^-jypan 
Die's paebmie. 

6 tDael-ricec. 



148 NOTES. 

7 Xtol in-pit-geept. 

8 Fori-griun'oen. 

9 JNsegling. I cannot help thinking that an r has dropped 
out of this Word, and that Nsegling is really no other than 
Naglhringr the celebrated Sword which the Dwarf Alpris 
obtained for Dietrich of Bern, as related in the Wilkina 
Saga. c. xvi. 

10 lUun^um heajib. 

CANTO XXXVII. 

1 Spa him ge-cyn'oe psep. 

2 De-bap.n. 

3 De-beap. 

4 Fopi-priar on mi v t> v oan. 

5 U]ojiult>e ge-peojicep. 

6 Degn un-^e-raer& till. 

7 fflunbe pasl-bleate. 

8 Dea<5 un-je-mete neah. 

9 Ggepan cSeun MS. which is certainly corrupt. I have 
ventured to read ejepan 'cun. 

10 CDsel-ge-pce-apta. 

11 Specie. Firmament of Jewellery. 

CANTO XXXVIII. 

1 Collen-perihS. 

2 Bpieopt-horit). 

3 On giogobe, MS. On ge-hSo, Kemb. I have read 
On gihpe-. 

4 Brentings, Mr. Kemble suggests, may probably be a 
term for Ships in general. But there certainly was a People 
of that Name, as in Paulus Diaconus c 2, 5, we read ; " Ha- 
buit Narses certamen adversus Sindvald, Brentorum regem, 
qui adhuc de Herulorum stirpe remanserat; quern secum, 
in Italiam veniens, simul Odoacer adduxerat." Cited by 
Ettmiiller p. 35. However, in the Text of Paulus Diaconus 
printed in the "Gothicarum et Langobardicarum rerum 
Scriptores aliquot veteres," Lug. Bat. 1617, the Word is not 
Brentorum, but Brebtorum. 

5 See Canto XXXV. note 1. 



CANTO XXXIX. 

lD6h-bo;z;en. 
£>omejaa-lape. 



NOTES. 149 

3 Fori Sap hilb-pjauman 
l50nV5e-peop.ce. 

4 CDine ^e-pjaseje. 

5 Tjieup-Jogan. 

6 £i]o-lat:an. 

7 DucS-ge-psabu. 

8 Seah on un-le6pe. 

9 Opep min je-met. 

10 I extract Mr. Kemble's Note on the ten latter Lines of 
this Canto. " It is not improbable that the whole of this 
denunciation of Wiglaf is a judicial formulary : such, we 
know, early existed, and in a regular rhythmical measure : 
the classical reader need not be reminded of Aristotle's 
vojioi. Chlodowich seems to make use of a similar formu- 
lary to his Kinsman Ragnachari, who had suffered himself 
to be taken and bound. Here is the passage from the Gesta 
Regum Francorum. (Script. Rer. Gall, and Francic. vol. 
ii. 555.) Cui dixit Chlodovens, cur humiliasti ge^emrcoatram, 
ut te vinciri permitteres ? Nonne melius tibi J'uer it mori? Et 
elevata bipenni in caput ejus defixit, et mortuus est. Con ver- 
susque ad fratrem ejus, ait. Si tu solatium fratri tuo prajbu- 
isses, illi ligatus non fuisset. Similiter et ipsum in capite 
percussum interfecit, et mortuus est. Thus certainly by 
adhering to an old Teutonic custom, and acting upon an old 
Teutonic principle, Chlodowich got rid of two very danger- 
ous rivals. Gens nostra is the mseg-burh of our text and 
deab bib sella is precisely melius tibi fuerit mori. The 
gentile bond was, as Tacitus assures us, the foundation of 
the military organization : the cowardice of one man dis- 
graced his gens, family, or meeg-burh. Tacitus says (Germ, 
vi.) nee sacris adesse aut concilium inire ignominioso fas, 
( ignominiosus war der feige, der in kampf sein schild wag- 
geworfen hatte. Grimm. Dent. Recht Salter th'iimer, 731 :) 
muki superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt. The 
following apocryphal legend respecting Frothi confirms Ta- 
citus; praeterea si quis in acie primus fugam capesceret, a 
communijure alienus existeret. Saxo. lib. 5. p. 85. Grimm 
reads line 5767" [in the passage before us] "leofen alicgan : 
he remarks, Ich iibersetze : jam opum largitio, ensium dona 
omnisque patriae lsetitia, et victus generi vestro cessabunt ; 
quilibet vestrae cognationis alienus erit a jure communi, post- 
quam homines compererint fugam vestram, ignominiosam 
secessionem a domino vestro; (secessio for dael<5, which 
Thorkelin had given 'as the reading of the MS. The MS. 
however has da?ld, the 1 being expuncted.) Mors enim vero 
generoso prasstantior est, quam vita pvobrosa. Lufen nehme 



150 NOTES. 

icli f ur leofen victus, und dann entspricht wyn and lufen ganz 
unserer rechts formel wonne undxceide D. Rechtsalt, 46, 521. 
But we know from Tacitus, Germ. xii. in addition to what 
we have above cited, that death was sometimes inflicted 
upon cowards, and that, by burying alive in a marsh with 
symbolical ceremonies; ignavos et imbelles et corpore in- 
fames cs.no ac pulude, injecta insuper crate, mergunt. This 
punishment appears to have been chosen because it was in- 
flicted upon female slaves ; vid. Atla-mal. Upon it Grimm 
remarks, D. Rechts Alt. 695, that the tradition remained in 
the pcems of the middle ages, and cites Bonac. 32, 27. and 
Fischart, Flohhatz. 36, a. he quotes also the following inter- 
esting passage ; novo genere lethi, dejectus ad caput aquae 
Ferentinse, crate superne injecta, saxisque congestis, merge- 
retur. Tit. Livius i. 51. But it is my belief that the old 
tradition got into the poems from the proverbs : in those of 
many nations it still survives, a matter deserving of remark 
because many proverbs owe their origin to the customary 
law, as on the other hand, many spring from religious ob- 
servances and the superstitions of a people. The Proverbs 
to which I allude will be found, Griiter Flor. p. 136. Ray. 
p. 21. Gartn. Diet. Prov. 68, b. Howel, p. 5, &c." 



CANTO XL. 

1 Seax-bennum ye 6c. 

2 >ealbe$ 

^eapo^-peari'se 
Leopef anb lapep. 

3 £et-parie. Leo and Ettmiiller take this Word as a 
proper-name. The People called Het-ware or Chattuarii lay 
between the Franks and Frisians. I have preferred, with 
Mr. Kemble, to consider the Word simply as an ordinary 
Substantive, for it was the Franks who slew Higelac. 

4 Jjon^-flyht. 

5 16 jamene. The savage Warriours of the North very 
generally put their Prisoners to Death, frequently sacrific- 
ing them to Odin. (Procop. Bel. Van. 1, 2. Bel. Got. ii. 
14, 15.) Indeed this was done by almost all Nations before 
the Influence of the Christian Church had succeeded to some 
Extent in softening the cruel Spirit of Man. Thus the Jews 
are often represented in Holy Scripture as executing their 
Prisoners. It were needless to quote Instances from Ori- 
ental History. The Greeks more usually butchered only the 



NOTES. 151 

Chiefs, reducing the Rest to the terrible Condition of Slavery, 
while the bloody Scenes of a Roman Triumph are well known. 
In the Edda. Saem. Sigurdar-quida Fafn. 2. xxv. we find 
Sigurdr Fafnisbani putting his Prisoner Lyngui the Son of 
Hunding to the cruel Death called brn rista (to cut the 
Eagle) 

Nu er bl6J?ugr brn Now is the bloody Eagle 
Bitrom hibrvi With the biting Sword 

Bana Sigmundar On the slayer of Sigmundr's 

A baki ristinn. Back cut. 

Edd. Saem. Vol. ii. p. 165. 

and the same cruelty was perpetrated upon iEUa of North- 
umberland by the Sons of Ragnar. Even the Influence of 
Holy Church has been unable to restrain the Ferocity of 
manj'. Charlemagne butchered his Saxon Prisoners by Thou- 
sands, but he took care to call them Rebels or Traitors first. 
Dagobert murthered all his Prisoners who were taller than 
his Sword. Mezeray, Abrege Chron. torn. iii. p. 222, hut 
Mezeray does not believe the Tale, though why not he does 
not tell us, except that it sounds romantic. The Portuguese 
and English after the Battle of Aljubarota(Froissart B. iii. c. 
13, Vol. ii. p. 122, Edit. London, 1844), and the English after 
the Battle of Agincourt, (Monstrelet. B. 1. c. cxlvi, Vol. 1, 
p. 342, Edit. London, 1846-7) massacred their Prisoners : 
and even lately the French at Algiers suffocated eight Hun- 
dred Arab Prisoners with Smoke. 



CANTO XLI. 

1 EOjiiSon. 

2 Dagr hie pael-p rupe 
Ujeal^an mopton. 

3 SyjrSan hie "Sa maep.'Sa ge-plogon. 

4 tEad-mS. 

5 Folc-ja-cEb prieme^e. Query. Does polc-riaVo, the 
People's Counsel, mean the Decision of any deliberative Body 
of the People 1 

6 UJonna. 

7 Ulunbori-'fceaSe ppealt. 

8 A Thousand simply means many. 



152 NOTES. 



CANTO XLII. 

1 IDoriulbe je-bal, Separation from the World, i. e. Death. 

2 lEaer f Z^pejpe X.G ppib 
pe Sone $yt>eri on-ryhte. 

3 On bsef UJajlben^ep p&rie. Menol. Ang. Sax. Fox. 
432. 

5 On ojVse. 

6 Dyrie mabmap. 



CANTO XLIII. 

1 Un-pac-licne. 

2 Spic-bol. The Destroyer of Wood or Matter, i. e. Fire. 
Exactly synonymous is the Icelandic " Lindar-vabi." (Si- 
gurdar-quida Fafn. II. B. xliii) and " Muspill." The Word 
is compounded of Spic, Destructive, and Dul Wood or the 
Thole of a Rowlock. In these Compounds one must suppose 
the Ang. Sax. Word D61 and the Icelandic Words "Lindi" 
and " Mud or Mu" to mean like the Greek 'YX?) Matter 
rather than exclusively Wood. Confer. Kemh. in loco. 
Grimm. Deut. Mythol. 467, 540, and the Glossary to Berg- 
mann's Poemes de l'Edda. 

3 0$ ^<er he ba ban-hup 
De-briocen haepfoe. 

4 The eight Lines between the two Marks (*) cannot be 
called Translation, the MS. in that Part being too much in- 
jured to be read. I have treated the few legible Words 
exactly as I did those in Cantos XXXI and XXXII, and so 
filled up so as not to inconvenience the Reader. 

5 CpaVcon baet he pzerie, 
tDyriolo-cynm^a, 
CDanna mil'oupr, 

Xnb mon-bpamup'c, 
Leobum litSopr. 
lub 16p-3e6pinopr. 



INDEX. 



A 

Abulfarag, 125. 

Adam, Genealogy of Kings 
from, xxi. 

Adils, vid. Eadgils. 

iElfred, xxvi. 

iElla of Northumberland, 151. 

iEschere, 52. 55. 

Aljubarota, Massacre of Pri- 
soners at, 151. 

Amilias, 130. 

Angles, and Geats, xxv. 

Anseric, xix. xxi. 

Arch, in Building, 4. 17. 35. 
69. 105,106. 133. 

Architecture, xxiv. 

Armour, Chain, 14. 22. 59. 87. 
106. 

Artric, or Harderic, xix. xxi. 

Artvin, xxxvi. 

Asser, xxx. 132. 

Audi, v. Woden. 

Aun, v. On. 

Azincourt, English massacre 
their Prisoners at, 151. 

B 

Baeldaeg, xxxiv. 
Banquet, 24. 39-49. 76. 
Barrow made over aTomb, 18. 

108. 121. 
Bedwig, xviii. xxi. 
Beonoc, Beanstan, xxxiv. 22. 



Beowulf, The Scylding, xvi. 
xxii. 3. 

The Wsegmunding, a My- 
thological Being, xvi. 
xxii. xxiv. 

Hears of the Ravage of 
Denmark, and prepares 
to aid tbe Danes, 9, et 
seq. 17. 77. 

Arrives, and is introduced 
to the King, 10. 17. 

Made Chief of the Palace- 
guard, 26. 

Slays Grendel, 30. 34. 

His Popularity, 33. 

Adopted by Hrothgar, 
57. 

Slays a Nicker, 55. 

Attacks and slays Gren- 
del's Mother, 57. 60. 

Returns home, 70-74. 

Is long unappreciated by 
the Geats, 84. 

Is enraged at the Devas- 
tation made by the Dra- 
gon, 90. 

Refuses the Throne while 
the infant Heir lives, 92. 

Accedes to the Throne, 92 . 

Goes to attack the Dra- 
gon, 93. 

Fights with the Dragon, 
99. 104. 



154 



INDEX. 



Beowulf, His Followers take 
Flight, 100. 
Aided by Wiglaf, slays the 

Dragon, 105. 
Is mortally wounded, 

105. 
Gives Directions for his 

Funeral, 108. 
Dies, 109. 

His Body burned, 121. 
Bergmann, xxxii. 152. 
Bevin, v. Be6wulf. 
Birds, Language of, revealed 
to Sigurdr Fafnisbani, 
xxxvii. xli. 
Boar, The Crest of the Hel- 
met, 13. 43. 50. 56. 129. 
Bo, Boerinus, &c. v. Beowulf, 

xxii. 
Bodo, v. Woden, xx. xxi. xxii. 
Bodvildr. 130. 
Borghildr, xxxv. 
Brecca, xxxiii. 21. 
Brentings, 108. 148. 
Brisinga-men, v. Brosings. 
Brond, Brondings, xxxiii. 21. 
Brosings' Collar, 47. 84. 138. 
Brynhildr, xxxviii. xliii. 
Brynholm, 131. 
Buddha, xx. 

Burning the Dead, 43. 121. 
138. 

C 

Cain, Posterity of, 5. 49. 126. 

Charlemagne, 151. 

Chilperic, xl. 

Chlodowiek, 149. 

Chochilaicus, v. Higelac. 

Christ stripped of his God- 
head by the new Religion, 
xxiii. 

Christian, The Author of Be6- 
wulf a, xxviii. xliv. 124. 

Chronology violated in mytho- 
logical Traditions, xx. 



Copenhagen Museium, 123, 

135, 140. 
Crighton and Wheaton, xvii. 
Cup, Drinking, Borne round 

by the Queen, 25. 46. 78. 
Custom of the Hall, Heroes to 

keep Guard, 49. 

D 

Dan, xviii. 

Danes, Oppressed bv Grendel, 
8. 20. 

Conquer Friesland, 42- 

45. 
Delivered by Beowulf, 
33. 
Date of Poem, xlv. 
Dead, The, how disposed of, 
2. 43. 121. 123. 

Rest in God's Covenant, 

2. 120. 
Region of the, 135. 147. 
Death of a Relation must be 
avenged, or atoned for by 
Compensation, 146. 
Demons descended from Cain, 

5. 49. 
Dietrich, xxii. 148. 
Doom of the Good and Wicked, 

8. 24, 
Dragons, xxxvii. xl. xliii. 145. 
Dissolve at death, 35. 
Are Treasure-keepers, xl. 

35. 85. 88. 144. 
The Dragon's Cave Rob- 
bed, 85. 
Breathe Fire and live 
long, 88. 99. 
Dragon, The, attacks the 
Geats, 89. 

Is killed by Beowulf, 99. 

104. 
Is fifty Feet long, 117. 
Thrown into the Sea, 
120. 
Drunken, 131. 



INDEX. 



155 



Eadbuhr, 132. 

Eadgils, 92. 

Eanmund, 101. 

Ecglaf, Father of Hunferth, 21. 

38. 56. 69. 
Ecgtheow, Beowulf's Father, 

11.25.54.57. 84. 
Ecgwela, 66. 141. 
Elan marries Qngentheow, xvi. 

3. 
Elves descended from Cain, 

5. 
Enoch, 127. 
Eofer, xxvi. 96. 114. 
Eormanric, xxxv. 47. 139. 
Eotens, 17. 27. 35. 60. 135. 

Descended from Cain, 5. 
Ethelwerd, xvii. 
Ethelwulf, 132. 
Ettmuller, xv. xxx. 143. 148. 



Fafnir, xxxix. xl. xliii. 

Dissolves spontaneously 
by his own Heat, 35. 
Fant, xxix. 
Fate, 48. 98, 99. 131 
Finn, King of Friesland, xix. 

xxi. xxx. 42. 
Killed, 45. 
Finn Magnusen, Prof. xv. xxxi. 

138. 
Fitela, xxxiv. 35. 123. 
Flood, The Noachic, 65. 
Florence of Worcester, xxvii. 
Franks, xxv. 150. 
Freaware, xvi. 78. 
Freawine or Frelaph, xix. xxi. 
Freothogar, xxxiii. 
Fridlev. xviii. 145. 
Frithuwald,Fridwald, xix. xxi. 
Frithuwulf, Fridulph. xix. 

xxi. 
Froda, xvi. xviii. 78. 
Frotho, 145. 



Gar-Danes, 1. 24. 96. 123. 

Garmund, xxviii. 

Geats, xxv. xxvi. 9. 14. 24. 32. 

47. 96. 101. 121. 
G elder, xix. 

Genevieve, St. xxxvi. xlv. 
George, St. xliii. 
Geta or Geat, xix. xxi. 
God's Will and Fate, 1. 2. 28. 

37,38. 60. 116. 131. 
Gods, The heathen, are Devils, 
xxviii. 8. 

The, of a Superseded Re- 
ligion, get looked upon 
as Heroes, xxiii. 
Godwulf, xix. xxi. xxx. 
Gramur, xxxviii. 
Grani, xxxviii. xli. 
Gregory, St. of Tours, xxv. 

136. 
Grendel, A Demon, 5. 24. 26, 
77. 

Attacks Heorot, 6. 29. 80. 
Lives in Deserts, 7. 77. 
Eats human Flesh, 30. 80. 
Attacks Beowulf, and is 

slain, 30. 80. 
Invulnerable by Wea- 
pons, 32. 
Grendel's Mother attacks He- 
orot, slays Fischere, 49. 50. 
Her Abode, 53. 
Fights with Beowulf, 
and is slain, 59, 60. 
82. 
Grimm, xv. xxvii. 130. 133, 

134. 136. 149. 
Grundtvig, 137. 
Gualas, v. Hwala. 
Guard of the Coast, 10. 
Guthlaf, xxx. 45. 
Gyants, Rebellion of the, 
against God, 5. 65. 141 . 
Children of Cain, 5. 
125. 



156 



INDEX. 



Grants, Moses' Gibborim, 125. 

141. 
Weapons of, and against, 

134. 
Gyfths, 96. 

H 
Hsereth, Hygd's Father, xxvii. 

74. 
Haethcyn, xxvi. 94, 113. 
Hagene, or Hogni, xli. xlii. 
Halga, or Helgi, xvi. 3. 137. 
Hama, 47. 139. 
Haquon, v. On. 
Harderic, v. Artric. 
Harp, 5. 87. 116. 
Hathra, or Hadras, xviii. xxi. 
Havard, xviii. 
Healfdene, Haldane, xvi. xviii. 

3. 77. 
Heardred, xxvi. 92. 
Heatbo-beardan, 73. 
Heatbo-ragmes, xxxiv. 21. 
Heatho-laf, slain byEcgtheow, 

19. 
Heimskringla, xxii. xxv. 
Hell, 8. 24. 34. 134. 
Helmings, 25. 
Hemming, xxviii. 
Hengest, xx. xxxiii. 43. 
Heorogar, xvi. 3. 65. 
Heorot, or Roeskilde, 4. 18. 

124. 

Attacked by Grendel,6. 
Streets paved witb Stone, 

14. 
Injured by the Fight of 
Beowulf and Greudel, 
39. 
Herebald, xxvi. 94. 
Hereric, xxvii. 
Heremod, xvii. xviii. 35. 66. 

141. 
Hermanaric, v. Eormanric. 
Hermann, xxxvi. 
Hetware, 150. 



Hialprekr, xl. 

Higelac, King of the Geats, 
xxv. xxvi. 9. 17. 32. 76. 84. 
94. 113. 

Death of, xxv. 85. 91. 
112. 150. 
Hildebubr, xxxiii. 42. 45. 

138. 
Hnsef. xxxiii. 42. 
Hoce, Hocings, xxxiii. 42 
Hondscio, 143. 
Horn, Drinking, 20. 40. 47. 
Horse-races, 36. 
Hraedla, 19. 
Hrefna-wood, 113. 
Hrethel, Higelac's Father, 

xxvi. 74. 
Hrethmen, 18. 

Hrones-ness, Beowulf's Bu- 
rial-place, 121. 
Hrothgar, King of Denmark, 
Genealogy, xvi. 3. 
Build's Heorot, 4. 
Oppressed by Grendel, 8. 

20. 37. 
Buys Peace with Wyl- 

fings, 19. 
Confides the Custody of 
bis Castle to Be6wulf, 
26. 
Adopts Beowulf, 37. 
Rewards Beowulf and bis 
Companions, 40. 72. 83. 
Appoints Beowulf Master 
of the Cavalry and Ar- 
moury, 41. 
His Speecb, 65-69. 
His Attachment to Beo- 
wulf, 72. 
Hr6thmund and Hrethric, xvi. 

46. 
Hrothwulf or Rolfr, xvi. 46. 
Hrunting, 56. 69. 
Hugan, 97. 

Hunfertb, Hrotbgar's Orator, 
21. 45.57. 



INDEX. 



157 



Hygd, Higelac's Wife, xxvi. 
xxviii. 74. 

Attempts to murther lier 

Husband, 75. 
Marries Offa, 75. 



Ingeld, xvi. xviii. 80. 
Investiture of a King, 84. 
Iormanrik, v. Eormanric. 
Itermon, xviii. xxi. 



Judgement to come, 116. 



Kemble, xv. His Work is con- 
stantly used. 
Krantz, Albert, xix. xxvii. 
Kriemhilte, or Godrun, xli. 



Lachmann, xliii. 135. 
Lake, Mysterious, where the 
Demons reside, 53. 

Subsides on their Death, 
63. 
Langhorne, xviii. xxvii. 
Leibnitz, 140. 
Leo, xv. xviii. 
Lindar-vathi, 152. 
Lyngvi, xl. 151. 

M 

Marbod, xx. xxi. 
Matter's-Enemy, 121. 152. 
Matthew of Westminster, 

xxxiii. 
Mead, 1. 20. 
Mere-wioings, 113. 
Monte Pilato, 140. 
Mundbora, 146. 
Museium at Copenhagen, 

123. 
Muspill, 152. 
Mythological Character of an- 



cient Heroes, xvi. xxii. xxiv. 
xliii. 



Nsegling, Beowulf's Sword, 

105. 148. 
Nennius, xxx. 
Nibelungen, xli. 136. 
Nickers, 17. 23. 55. 
Nidung, xxxvi. 130. 
Noah, xxi. 

O 

Obsequies of a naval Hero, 2. 
Of a military Hero, 43. 
138. 
Odin, v. W6den. 
Offa, xxviii. 75. 
Ohtere, 101. 
Olaf, xviii. 132, 133. 
On, xxix. 
Ongentheow, xxix. 96. 113. 

115. 
Orn rista, 151. 
Orosius, xxvi. 
Oslaf, or Ordlaf, xxx. 45. 



Palmund, 135. 

Paulus Diaconus, 148. 

Petersen, Prof. xvii. 

Pilato, Monte, 140. 

Pinnacles, 134. 

Poem, Authorship and Date of 

the, xliv. xlvi. 
Poison boils in the Water 

where the Demons are, 55. 

82. 
Prisoners of War put to Death, 

150. 
Procopius, 150. 



^ueen, carries the Cup to the 
Guests in Banquet, 25. 46. 



158 



INDEX. 



Queen, not allowed in Wessex 

to sit on a royal Throne, 

132. 

R 
Racing, 36. 
Ragnar Lodbrok, xxxv. xliii. 

151. 
Pteginn, or Reigin, xxxvii. 

xxxix. 
Rerer, xxxv. 
Rings given by Kings to their 

Followers, 2.21.57. 67. 
Used for Money, 123. 
Ro. Roeskilde, xvii. 124. 
Romans butchered Prisoners, 

150. 



Sasbald, xxvii. 

Saefugel, xxvii. 

Samiazus, 126, 127. 

Saxo Grammaticus, xx. xxvii. 

145. 
Saxon Chronicle, xxvi. 
Scef, Exposure of, and Family, 

xvi. xviii. 1. 
Scyldings, or Skjbldungar, xvi. 
Scyld, or Skjbld, xvi. xxi. 

. Dies, 1. 
Scylfings, 3. 
Sea-monsters, 22. 
Sigegar, xxvii. 
Sigegeat, xxvii. 
Siggy, Sigvat, xxxv. 
Sigmund (Sigurdr Fafnisbani, 

Sifrit, Siegfried), xxxiv. xliv. 

34. 123. 135, 136. 151. 
Signy, xxxiv. xxxv. 
Simeon of Durbam, xvii. 
Sinfititli, v. Fitela. 
Sisile, Caecilia, xxxvi. 
Streseus, v. Scef. 
Suebdseg, xxii. 
Sweeds, 96. 
Sworta, Swerting, Svartick, 

xix. xxi. xxvi. xxvii. 



Swic-th61, 152. 
Sword, Metallic, will not act 
against Gyants and Demons, 
32. 59. 112. 134. 
Poisoned, 56. 
Wave-bladed, 57. 64. 

140. 
Ancient magic, dissolved 
by tbe Blood of Gren- 
del's Dam, 62. 64. 
Naegling, 103. 148. 
Hrunting, 56. 69. 



Tastwa, or Tetuas, xix. xxi. 
Thomsen, Prof., 123. 
Trophies, Grendel's Arm, 33. 
37. 39. 

Grendel's, and his Dam's 
Heads, 63. 



Vandals, 14. 

Vaulting of Roofs, 133. 

Vecta, xx. 

Vermund, xviii. 

Vita, xx. 

Vblsungr, xxxiii. 135. 

Vblsunga Saga, xxxix-xliii. 

Von der Hagen, xv. 

W 

Wsegdaeg, xxvii. 
WaBgmundings, xxv. 101. 
Wzelcyrian, xxvii. 
WaBlsings, or Volsungar, 35. 
Waltheuw, xvi. 25. 47. 78. 
Wayland Smith, 130. 
Weders, xxv. 17. 102. 125. 
Weber, 146. 
Weland, 19. 32. 130. 
Weldeg, xix. 
Were, 137. 
Whale, 22. 131. 
Wiglaf, a Scylling Prince, 101 . 
119. 



INDEX. 



159 



Wiglaf Assists Be6wulf, 103. 
Succeeds Beowulf, 109. 
Rifles the Dragon's Cave, 

106. 
Attends his dying Sove- 
reign, 108. 
Upbraids the Runaways, 

111. 150. 
Orders the Funeral of the 
King, 112. 
Wihstan, Wiglaf s Father, 

101. 
Wihtlaeg, xxviii. 
Wilkin, xix. xxi. 
Wilkina Saga, xxxvi. 130. 139. 

148. 
Withergyld, 79. 
Witigils, xx. 



Witikind, xx. xxi. 

Woden, xviii. xix. xxi. xxiii. 

xxvii. xxxv. 139. 
Wolfdietrich, 135. 146. 
Wonred, xxvii. 115. 
Worr, 132. 

Wudga, or Wittich, 139. 
Wulf, xxvii. 115. 
Wulfgar, a Vandal Prince, 14. 
Wylfings, 19. 

Y 

Ynglingar, xxix. 



Zohar, 127. 
Zeuss, xv. xliv. 



ERRATA. 

Page xviii, line 7, for kin, read hin. 

Page xxvii, line l,for Hcereth, read Haereth. 

Page xxxi, line 6, for Bergmann, vol. iii. read Bergmann. — Vol. 

iii. 
Page xl, line 18,^/b?' the Hindarfiall, read to Hindarfiall. 
Page 5, line 20, for Marshes, > , -» T , 
t> ko i- an £ t\t \ c re od Marches. 
Page 52. line 30, Jor Marshes, } 

Page 69, line 23, for Angle, read Geatic. 

Page 82, line 19, for Champion, read Companion. 

Page 87, line 14, Efface the Full-stop. 

Page 93, line 2 from foot, for tenderly bade, read tenderly he 

bade. 
Page 96, line 16, for Angle, read Geatic. 
Page 103, line 18,J'or and, read to. 
Page 110, line 3 from foot, for Wikstan read Wihstan. 
Page 134, line 19, for Accusation, read Accusative. 




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